Reflections
by Amehhh
Summary: After they've been paired up for a potions project, Emma and Draco have shared a special bond. It's a little bit strange, and a little off, but it works. As time progresses, Emma realizes that her feelings are no longer platonic. As the war approaches, their friendship becomes strained. Not every relationship can endure such tests. DMxOC
1. Before It Began

**Hello all! I'm on a Harry Potter binge, so I figured I may as well do some writing for it :D**

**Well...here we go. xD**

**Read and review, if you'd like.**

* * *

><p>The last thing I remember before I blacked out was an unspeakable amount of pain. Describing it as being stabbed or shot with a gun would be an understatement—it hurt so badly I couldn't even cry. I also remember being held by somebody. I couldn't even remember who it was, just that it felt safe.<p>

I could feel myself being placed onto a bed of some sorts. I didn't even remember being carried in. Hospital wing, I figured to myself. I could hear voices, some of which were very distinguishable, others, not so much. Many of them rolled together, but whoever they were, they were very kind.

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Of course she is. She's probably just passed out from the curse."

What curse?

"Idunno…she looks pretty pale."

"Honestly, Ronald. She's going to be fine. Everything about her is normal. Even the color of her skin." I could spot that voice from a mile away—Hermione.

I wanted to speak up and let them know I was going to be alright. When I couldn't do that, I tried to open my eyes and give a smile. I couldn't do that either. Wiggling my fingers? No. Flexing my arms? No, not that. I tried moving various parts of my body over and over again. I wanted to give up so badly, but I knew that that would be a bad idea.

"Students, out of the way!" Madame Pomfrey. "No visitors at the moment, please. Especially after…what just happened. She needs her rest. You can visit her tomorrow, even."

I could hear the lot of them leaving the wing, muttering things that I couldn't take real notice of. My mouth was being forced open, and a potion was being poured down my throat. It tasted absolutely _horrible_. As quickly as I thought I was perfectly awake, I was back asleep.

I woke up not a second later, but not to the surroundings I expected. I was in my Hogwart's uniform, standing amongst the people of Diagon Alley. People stared right through me. How rude of them. It wasn't until a couple minutes after wandering that I realized just how different this version of Diagon Alley was—it held a slightly different variation of color, almost as if I were looking into a pensieve. When people nudged into me, they went right through me (it was almost as if I were a ghost. Or was I a ghost?)

No, I couldn't be a ghost, especially not since I saw a little ginger prancing next to me. When she caught sight of Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, she broke out into a run. I had thought nothing of it (as she must have been going to Hogwart's next year), until I realized that it was not some excited soon to be first year, but instead myself before the first year of school. A second didn't even pass before I made the decision to follow her…or rather, me.

_"Mum! Dad! C'mon, the shop is this way!" I ran to the robe shop. "Come _on!_" I entered the shop with a grin on my face. _

_ "Hello there," a pleasant woman smiled. "I take it that you are a first year?"_

_ I nodded my head furiously. "Yes, ma'am." My parents entered the shop afterwards._

_ Madam Malkin smiled. "Come, dear, let's go fit you. If you'd just stand right over there, I'll prepare some cloth and pins."_

_ I stood over to where she pointed as my parents sat down on a bench nearby, with a sack full of wizarding money (it was so different! Pounds didn't even exist here—Galleons and sickles and knuts were what they were called). She began taking measurements and fitting me with a robe that looked similar to my size. I was the only person in the shop at the moment, until a blonde boy walked in._

My breath hitched. Was that Draco?

_"Hogwarts, as well?" A boy my age stood onto a stool next to me. _

_ "Yes," I smiled. "I'm Emma Hughes." I hoped to at least make one other friend before being whisked away to the magical school I'd read so much about._

_ "Pleasure. I'm Draco Malfoy." He seemed to hold himself to high esteem. "What house do you expect to be sorted into?"_

_ "Oh…" I stopped to think for a moment. I had four choices, didn't I? Neither of my parents had even gone to the school, much less know anything about the houses. Before making myself look even more awkward than I should, I replied "No, I don't really expect any specific house."_

_ "Ah." Draco didn't seem impressed. "_I'm_ going to be in Slytherin, of course. Both my parents have been in that house. Are you going to try out for Quidditch in your second year? I think it's an absolute nuisance that they don't let first years try out."_

_ "I don't think I'd be very good at Quidditch," I said. And for good reason too: I hardly knew what it was. Some wizarding sport—I heard other kids glorifying a broomstick a few shops down. It seemed silly to me at first, until I realized that it did something more than sweep floors. "I'm not very good at sports, really."_

_ "Hmm." Once again, he didn't seem very impressed. "I find it rather interesting, you know. How the _other_ kind can still get in. Really, purebloods should be the only ones let into Hogwarts—to think some of the others haven't even heard of Hogwarts before the letter arrived. It's sad really. They don't truly deserve to master their magic when they don't even have parents who have magic. It's a shame, actually."_

_ I glanced over at my parents as they gave him a disapproving look. I peered over to what I presumed to be his parents, and they looked slightly satisfactory._

I really should have just ignored him, I mused with a curt smile. I sat down on the bench next to my parents. What a prat. Things would have been so much easier without him. But then again, they also would have been a lot less exciting.

_"Well, here you are dear!" Madam Malkin handed me a box full of robes to take with me to Hogwarts (even though I began to feel like I didn't deserve to go thanks to that blonde boy). "That will be ten sickles."_

_ I rifled through my bag of wizard money and thought a little bit. _Of course, _I thought. I pulled out ten of the silver coins. "Thank you!"_

_ "No, thank _you_," was her reply. If the rest of the storekeepers were going to be as nice as she was, I didn't think I'd have a problem._

_ I gave a quick wave to Draco. "Bye," I told him, even though his words didn't necessarily make me feel the most confident in myself. "I'll see you at Hogwarts, yes?" I asked him. Regardless of the git he had been, it was just an opinion. Opinions could be changed, if you tried hard enough. _

_ "Of course. Goodbye Emma," he muttered as Madam Malkin began to work on his robes. As I left the shop with my parents, I could have sworn I heard him curse at the lady for sticking him with a pin. _

I wanted to stay and watch this younger version of Draco, to relax on the bench and not move. After I thought about it, I figured that I'd be seeing Draco again fairly soon, and that if I lost myself in the crowd, I wouldn't know how to be my conscious self again. I stood up and started to leave the building. I gave one last look to him and his parents. They had nearly frozen themselves in time. I couldn't recall anything that happened in the robe shop after I had left it that day. Maybe I was supposed to follow myself—I had no recollection of what happened elsewhere. Was there even a point in all of this? Reliving my life? Was there some sort of lesson to be learned? I thought my life had been a pretty good one, considering I'd never done anything wrong. There was nothing to repent for.

I left the building as I felt Madam Pomfrey put a blanket over my body.

* * *

><p><strong>So how do you think it was? Hopefully not all too confusing?<strong>

**Maybe just a little? Let me know! I'd love to know your thoughts on it. **

**-Amehhh**


	2. Platform 9 and 3 Quarters

**Hello all! I see you've made it this far in my story. :D**

**...Not that it's very far. But, y'know.**

**Ugh, first year...It's so boring, but it's so crucial. **

**Read and review, por favor? **

* * *

><p>As I followed myself, the scenery changed as if I were in a pensieve (Harry had described it to me once during our sixth year). I soon found myself at Knight's Cross as the picture pieced itself together, pushing a trolley. It looked as if I had already said goodbye to my parents, as I was wandering about by myself. I felt cold, despite the sunny disposition. The hospital wing must have a window open or something of the sorts.<p>

_It was absolutely sunny, and I loved it. The sun hit my skin as I smiled. I was finally off to Hogwarts! Now, all I had to do was find my train…I looked at my ticket. Platform 9 ¾, it read. It was rather odd; everyone knew that you couldn't have those types of platforms at a train station. But it _was_ magic, so I could have easily been wrong. After looking around between platforms 9 and 10, there didn't seem to be any hope. I had thought about asking a patrol officer, but decided against it—it would be a little silly, wouldn't it? _

_ My owl occasionally hooted as I stood there dumbly, waiting for someone else with the same predicament as I had. I figured I had well over a couple of minutes before the train left. So long as it didn't leave, I'd be safe. Instead of wanting people to stare at my hooting owl, I fed it a treat so as to make it quiet for at least a couple more minutes. It turned out that the blonde boy—Draco was his name—was walking with his parents. "Hello, Draco," I smiled._

_ "Hello." He said, boredly. He then added, "Emma. What're you doing just standing here?"_

_ "Well," I began, "my parents couldn't be here today, so they dropped me off. You see, they didn't explain the whole process to get to Platform 9 ¾ very well…"_

_ Draco snorted just then, I think._

Oh yes, that was definitely a snort.

_ "We'll show you how to get through, dear," said what I assumed to be his mother. "Narcissa," she stuck out her hand._

_ I shook it. "Emma."_

_ "Nice to meet you. Now, watch Draco—he's seen this done many times. And then you can go."_

_ Mrs. Malfoy seemed fairly nice, whereas her husband seemed rather distant and condescending. _How odd, _he must think_, is it that this child does not know how to get to Platform 9 ¾?_ I could almost feel his eyes burning holes into my body._

_ Coolly, Draco walked through the brick wall itself and disappeared along with his trolley. I glanced up as Mrs. Malfoy, and she nudged me on. "You can run, if you like," she told me with a gentle smile. I nodded and looked over at Darwin (my owl) to make sure he wasn't going to fall off in my mad dash through a wall. I took a deep breath and broke out into a run. It was the strangest feeling, really, to go through something tangible that one always thought was solid. Had anyone seen me? In fact, how did nobody see anything when it came to disappearing through a wall?_

_ When I had come out of the wall and back into the sun, Draco was standing there, looking as bored as ever. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to come through," he told me in a tone which I thought was supposed to make me angry. Narcissa and her husband stepped through not a moment too soon. _

I giggled as I watched Narcissa throw a little fit about her only child going off to Hogwarts for such a long time. She bent over him, to give him a kiss on the forehead. His father just gave him a meaningful glance.

_Behind Draco was a familiar face: Hermione. We had met when we were buying our school books—we were both rather excited to learn something that not many people were privileged to learn. I had hoped that she brought Hogwarts: A History; she promised to lend it to me for the train ride. "There's Hermione," I smiled. "I'm going to go by her, if you don't mind. Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, I'll see you on the train, Draco."_

_ He nodded in response as two bulky boys joined with him and his family, almost acting as bodyguards. I called over to Hermione—she immediately recognized me and picked up the book from her trolley. "Care to join me on the train ride?" She asked. _

_ "Of course," I grinned. We handed our trolleys to the men which everyone else was handing trolleys to and boarded the train. We found a nearly empty space—a boy was in it, looking slightly frantic. _

_ "Hello," he said in a quiet voice. "I'm Neville."_

_ "Hermione."_

_ "Emma."_

_ "Have you seen a toad anywhere, by any chance? His name is Trevor, and I've lost him…" He looked fairly distraught for losing an amphibian. Toads weren't necessarily my type of animal, but if I was to make friends with this nice looking boy, I'd help him look for Trevor._

Oh, Neville. I smiled. That toad would be the death of him, one day.

_ We began to help searching as soon as the train started moving. Hermione went one direction, looking in compartments, and I went in the other. Neville was looking in all the nooks and crannies of the hallway. I had come across first through seventh years, from odd-looking people to very beautiful ones. None of them had seen a toad yet, or at least, one that wasn't theirs. I was beginning to lose hope until I came upon Draco's compartment._

_ "Hello again," I popped my head through. "Have you seen a toad named Trevor? A boy named Neville has lost him."_

_ He gave a short laugh while his two friends guffawed behind him, taking it as an extremely funny joke. "No, I haven't. How could he possibly lose his toad that fast?"_

_ I shrugged. "It beats me."_

_ "You can sit down if you want, you don't seem like that Harry Potter," he spat. _

_ I sat down across from him. "Oh," I said, without really knowing who Harry Potter was. I wasn't sure whether I should take Draco's contempt for him seriously, considering Draco already held himself with a high esteem. "I don't know, he seems okay." In fact, I hadn't even met him yet, but I felt the need to defend him._

I never realized how obvious I had made it known that I didn't know who Harry Potter was. Either he couldn't tell, or he was ignoring my ignorance.

_ "Well, I ought to keep looking for him. Let me know if you see Trevor, alright?"_

_ He rolled his eyes. "Right."_

_ I left his compartment. Halfway through the train, Hermione and I met up again. "We should probably change into our robes. I expect that we'll be arriving soon." I looked outside as she said this. It was getting dark outside, and she was probably right._

_ We had stepped off the train not a half hour later. A large man held a lantern and directed us towards a lake. I wasn't speaking about him being large weight-wise, but more height. I must have been a fourth of his height. He explained to us that all first years had done this for as long as he could remember, and to only have four persons per boat. Hermione, Neville and I had climbed into a boat with another boy and began to sail across. The other boy rowed us across the lake as Hermione and I held the lantern. _

_ We were all in awe: Hogwarts was absolutely magical. There wasn't a word to describe it, really. All of the lights were on, giving it a mystical yet eerie look to it. The boat ride was much too short, however. It felt we had only been sailing for a couple of seconds before we reached the shore._

_ The large man, Hagrid was his name he said, led us into the castle. It was large, made of stone, and most surprisingly, warm. It was a fairly primitive description, but there weren't really any words to describe it. I wasn't too sure what to expect of Hogwarts at first, but now I knew that this would definitely be my home away from home. After seeing it for the first time, I wasn't too sure if I even wanted to go back home. _

_ The kids around me started talking about the sorting. I had read about it in Hermione's book. It didn't seem too terrifying—it was only a hat. _

_ A woman then introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She talked about the sorting and the four houses, which I had already known about thanks to Hermione's text. She opened the doors, and I took a deep breath. I was going to be sorted whether I liked it or not._

I laughed at myself. Had I really been that nervous because of a silly old hat? Apparently, I had been.

* * *

><p><strong>How was that?<strong>

**Once again, not too confusing? Transitions nicely?**

**I'd love to hear your thoughts :)**

**On anything. Really. Anything.**

**I suppose it's time to work on my homework now, though...Hmph. **

**Have a good one!**

**-Amehhh**


	3. The Sorting

**Well, since it's Rapture Day, I figured that I'd post a little bit more of this before Hell broke loose.**

**How many of you believe in this? I'm just curious, haha.**

**Onto the story!**

**If you would be so kind as to read and review! :)**

* * *

><p>I saw myself nervously file along with the other students. An old, tattered hat sat upon a stool. Looking over at Professor McGonagall, I had seen that she had pulled out a scroll, with everyone's names on it. I sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, watching the tradition I had seen so many times before.<p>

_I jumped as the hat opened its (…what was that, a mouth?) mouth and began to sing. He sang of the four houses and their qualities and I began to become even more amused and even bemused. Which house would I get sorted into? I never exactly thought myself to have those qualities that stood out very much. One could say I was rather dull at times; even if I don't like to think it._

_ Professor McGonagall took out a scroll and began to call out names: "Abbot, Hannah." The girl was chosen to be in Hufflepuff. She kept calling out names and names. I could feel my heart beating faster and faster as she got closer to mine. _

_ The hat chose Hermione to be in Gryffindor. I gulped—I'd be next, wouldn't I?_

_ "Hughes, Emma," McGonagall called out. I took a deep breath and propped myself onto the stool. The hat was placed onto my head and I figured that my heart would beat out of my chest. _

_ I swear that I jumped a little when it began to speak: "Ah, Emma Hughes…the first one I have seen in a while…You seem as if you are someone who needs to figure out who she is and what she wants. Yes…For that reason, I shall put you in…" the hat paused for dramatic effect, "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindor table burst into a thunder of claps, as they had done for Hermione. A few of them shook my hands as I sat down. In between sorting, Hermione and I had talked about who was who and what was what. The teachers: some looked absolutely menacing, and others had looked like they were having a good time._

Draco was put into Slytherin immediately. He smirked proudly and sauntered over to his new table, welcomed into their cunning family.

_My heart sank a little bit. It made me a little sad that we weren't in the same house, but so be it. We'd still have a couple classes together, I was sure of that. After the rest of the first years were sorted, loads of food magically appeared on our plates. A very audible gasp was heard throughout the Great Hall, from first years to seventh years. I figured It was something one never got used to. Hermione and I followed the prefect, Percy, to our dormitory. After we had learned the password, we crawled through the portrait home and were greeted by an amazing display of homeliness. The fire place was burning; the carpet and walls were gold and red, with completely matching furniture. Oh yes, I'd find this to be a wonderful place to be._

_ Hermione and I giggled with each other and headed up to the first year girl's dormitories. We had picked beds next to each other's, and found our trunks right next to them. We left to change into our pajamas and crawled into bed, filling our heads with great expectations._

* * *

><p><em> The next day I woke up, and I almost didn't know where I was. I soon made the great realization that I was in fact in Hogwarts and would not be returning home for quite a while. A wave of homesickness brushed over me. My schedule was on the nightstand next to me. I picked it up and took a glance at it before groaning. Herbology with the Slytherins. I had heard the older Gryffindors complain about the Slytherins and this made me nervous. <em>

_ After changing into my uniform, I had found Hermione in the Great Hall eating her breakfast. "Hello, Hermione."_

_ "So, I was going over our herbology books—what do you suppose she'll start us out with?"_

_ I pondered for a moment. "I don't really know. Probably something that's fairly easy that we'll end up using for the rest of our years, I suppose," I laughed. Teachers had always done that, from the moment I stepped into preschool. "C'mon, we should probably get going." I grabbed a piece of toast from a platter and began walking with her. _

_ We were nearly late, but Hermione had found the greenhouses in advance. The class went by easily: Madam Sprout talked about basic plants and fungi and Neville seemed to be the only one truly interested. After the class had ended, Hermione was off to the library to read up on a plant before her next class. I figured I'd just read my textbook. _

_ As I walked out of the greenhouse, I sat upon my nostalgia. This place was nothing like home, where you weren't ruled by your parents, but by others who had no idea who you really were. I kept reminding myself that I really _would_ see my parents again, just…not for a while._

_ A person nudged my shoulder. "Getting homesick already?" Draco._

_ "No, not really," I lied._

Boy, was I a terrible liar. No wonder he made fun of me.

_He snorted, "Right." The two boys behind him gave me what I thought was a smirk. "See you around, _Hughes_," he spat. _

_ I wanted to refute his statements, but something held me back. Why exactly was he being so much more mean? Was it just because we were from different houses? I suppose the older students were right: Slytherins weren't exactly the nicest people around, and should avoid them at all cost. _

_ Still, I thought, opinions could be changed. Regardless of his pompous attitude, I'd still be kind to him. Maybe some light will be shed on his egotistical head and he'll come to his senses, as silly as that sounded. Maybe, I should write to my parents, just to get over this feeling of loneliness._

I watched myself trudge off elsewhere. Wow, I began to think, I was pretty damn pathetic. The scenery began to change around me again. If this was how it was going to be, then at least I could watch myself turn into something more worth watching. First year, now that I look back on it, had not exactly been my best year. I glanced over at the younger Draco walking off with his two friends, if one could call them that.

Even for being an ass, he was innocent at this age, just like the rest of us. Even with his attitude…he was happy. He was so unlike himself in sixth year. I missed the bratty Draco that used to parade me with insults, if one could believe that.

I sighed as the scenery changed into a very familiar surrounding: Potions Class.

* * *

><p><strong>That wasn't absolutely horrible, now was it? <strong>

**Well, at my time...we have about six and a half hours to go before everything begins, haha.**

**(First thing's first, after all the believers go to Heaven, the gas prices will shoot up even more)**

**Anyways, review, you lovely people!**

**It makes my day. :)**

**-Amehhh**


	4. Potion's Class

**Ughhh I'm so tired haha. Thank God that it's a three day weekend though, haha.**

**How're you all doing today?**

**Anything fun?**

**Sweet.**

**Remember to read and review! :)**

* * *

><p>I saw myself sitting next to Hermione, naturally. She stood straight up into the air trying to answer the questions Professor Snape was humiliating Harry with. I, on the other hand was sinking low into my seat. Laughing to myself, I had wondered how only Hermione knew the questions—they were simple, really. The questions Snape had asked were all questions I could answer in a heartbeat; we would have learned them all by the end of our first year. I glanced back over at myself, casually taking a seat in the back of the classroom.<p>

_I glanced up at Professor Snape as he paired us up into groups. In a drawling tone, he explained that "because Professor Dumbledore wishes for inter-house unity, I will be pairing you up into Slytherin-Gryffindor groups." The entire class groaned after that. Hermione was paired with a snobbish looking girl by the name of Millicent Bulstrode, whereas I was thankfully partners with Draco. _

_ As Draco prepared his cauldron, I walked to the back of the classroom to get our ingredients. When I returned, he was checking his nails. "What does the book say to do first?" I glanced over at Hermione, who was already working on her potion._

_ "We need to crush the snake fangs and weigh the dried nettles," he said, getting a mortar and pestle ready. I began stirring some of the contents into his cauldron. Just moments after Professor Snape sneered at Harry for doing something wrong (even though from here it looked like he was doing it correctly), he sauntered over to our table and complimented Draco—not us, but Draco—on the way he was crushing the snake fangs. Regardless of who he complimented, Draco and I worked well together. We didn't even need to talk. We calmly worked on our potion as everyone else seemed to be chaotic._

_ The class had gone by faster than I had expected it to. Professor Snape stood towards the class at the front of the room with a disapproving scowl. "Everyone, turn in vials of your potion. They will be returned with a grade in a few days." I grabbed a vial and filled it up, then proceeded to hand it to Professor Snape. He gave me some sort of rare approving glance (probably because Draco was my partner). _

_ Everybody began shuffling around closing books and cleaning cauldrons with a simple spell. "Quiet down, class." Almost fearfully, the class stared at him with wide eyes. "By the next class, you will have an essay to turn in. With your partner, study a potion of your choice and write a twenty four inch essay about it. Dismissed." The class rushed out of the class while I waited up for Draco, who coolly lagged behind._

_ "Shall we go to the library after dinner and get a head start?" I asked him. I didn't want to be one of those students who put off their homework until the last minute._

_ He shrugged. "Sure. I'll meet you there." With that, he walked off to join his so-called friends. _

_ I saw Hermione as she rounded a corner. "Hermione!" I called. She stopped for me. "What potion do you think you'll do your essay on?"_

_ She began to think a little. "Maybe I'll convince Millicent to do an essay on the Draught of Living Death. It sounds very interesting, really. What about you?" _

_ "I read something about Polyjuice Potion in our textbook before summer ended. I figure I'll do that one."_

_ "The one where you can change a person's appearance into another person's appearance?"_

_ I nodded. "That's right. Draco and I are going to the library to research it after dinner. You and Millicent are welcome to join."_

_ "I just might," she smiled. "She seems a little hopeless. I'll see you in a bit, Emma. I'm off to the library for some light reading." Hermione pranced off with her hair bouncing behind her._

The surroundings decided to change on me once more. I was behind library shelves with books that I hadn't even bothered looking at. I shoved some of the text aside and saw myself glance up as Draco walked up the table. There was already a pile of books next to my parchment.

"Hello," I heard him say to me. I came from around the bookshelf and sat on a chair across the table.

_ "Hello," I said. "I was thinking that we could work on the Polyjuice Potion."_

_ He shrugged. "It sounds good to me. What've you got?" He peered over my parchment and looked at the book. I placed it in between us so he could have a better view._

_ "It's used to change the appearance of someone. It takes a fairly long time to make. Approximately a month."_

_ We passed our notes between each other so we could copy them down. Occasionally, he left and found another potion book to rifle through. "You know," he said, despite the librarian shushing us, "you seem like you really want to do well on this. I'm sure all the notes you have will suffice for one essay."_

_ "I know," I sighed. "I just really want to beat Hermione for once. She's my best friend, but she's already so much better at everything than I am, even though we spend the same amount of time on things, really. It's barely been a day, and I'm already second place to her. I just want to be better at her in one subject—that's all."_

_ "For someone who's a Gryffindor, you sure have the scheming skills of a Slytherin," Draco noted. He gave me what I now deemed as a rare smile. _

_ I smiled back at him. "I rather like to think that I'm a Gryffindor, through and through, thank you very much."_

_ "Have it your way." He stood up. "I think that we have enough notes. Even to beat that know-it-all Granger."_

_ I frowned a little bit. "She's not a know-it-all. She's just really smart."_

_ "Call her what you like," he shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. All I know is that she knows too much for her own good."_

_ I rolled my eyes. "Alright, Draco."_

_ He shrugged once more. "To be fair, the only reason why I talk to you even though you're a Gryffindor is because we met before school started and you seemed alright. A little daft, but alright. I'll see you around, Hughes." _

_ "Bye," I muttered. He seemed to find a new way to put me down every time we spoke. I tried to shake it off; it was just in his nature, I told myself. It wasn't like I was the only one who was taunted by him._

My defeated self looked rather…defeated, for lack of better words. I watched myself trudge out of the library, carrying my parchment with me. I silently thanked myself for Draco teaching me to stick up for myself—though it was mainly used for the defense of Draco's words. I shook my head and followed myself as the scenery changed yet again into the familiarity of the Hogwart's Quidditch fields.

* * *

><p><strong>Well! How was that?<strong>

**I'd love to know what you think, as always! :)**

**Good, bad or indifferent, I'd enjoy hearing from you all!**

**Until next time, eh? **

**-Amehhh**


	5. The Quidditch Fields

**Oh, hello again...**

**So, who wants to do my homework? 8D**

**No one? Fair enough.**

**But what you *could* do is read and review! :)**

* * *

><p>I sat down on the green grass, watching the two houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin line up next to some brooms. I faintly remembered this day—it was a sad day for my ego. Madam Hooch came out and barked the directions. Everyone looked slightly uneasy (except for Draco, that is).<p>

_I grimaced. I never used a broom for anything else but sweeping floors. When she told us to say "Up,!" I did my best and failed horribly. "Up!" I shouted. Harry and Draco's were the first to come up. My stomach had a wave of relief why when I saw that I wasn't the only one who was having difficulties. "Up. Up!" It didn't matter how many different ways I shouted at my broom—it wouldn't budge from the ground. It would just roll around, completely useless. _

_ After a while, others like me simply picked up their brooms and waited for the next instructions. Madam Hooch had explained to us that all we needed to do was kick off hard, rise a little bit, and come back down. I thought I might have done well at this part, but I didn't get to find out: Neville was already rising into the air. Along with other people, I gave gasps of fear for the boy._

_ It wasn't before long that he came crashing down to the ground, with a broken wrist. Madam Hooch jogged over to him, and demanded that we all stayed on our feet while she brought him to the hospital wing. _

_ When they were out of earshot, Draco jeered, "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins laughed with him._

_ Parvati and Pansy had a short row before Draco picked up Neville's Remembrall._

_ Harry said something quietly, and before I knew it, they were both in the air. They were both rather extraordinarily good at flying on a broomstick. I watched the scene in the air. I was rather glad at Harry for sticking up for Neville. I'd have to talk with him sooner or later—he seemed so down to earth. With the exception of course, that he was currently flying. _

_ My thoughts seemed to have consumed most of the drama that was going on in the air, for the next thing I knew they were both on the ground and Professor McGonagall was running toward Harry. My heart sank. He was going to be expelled, wasn't he? She took hold of his arm and walked off with him in a near heartbeat. _

_ Draco and his friends laughed at him as he was being walked off the field. _

_ I walked up to him. "Come off it, Draco. At least Harry can have fun without being mean to others." I rolled my eyes. My first impression of him was much less crude than the impression that he was giving me now. "Jerk," I muttered under my breath as I stormed away from him._

The scene dissolved once more. It stopped having the same dazzling effect on me the fourth time it happened. Once again, I found myself in a familiar place: potion's class. I sat on the table watching myself pilfer through my textbook, waiting for Draco to come in. And there he was, not a moment too soon, waltzing in casually, if that was even possible.

_"Sorry I'm near late," Draco told me as he sat down next to me. Today was the day we'd be getting our essays back, and we were being forced to sit with our partners. He gave me less than one good look before saying, "Your hair is a mess."_

_ "Oh…" I frowned a little bit. "Well, I was in a bit of a rush this morning." He gave me a very perplexed look. "What?" I asked him, slightly annoyed._

_ "You aren't going to talk back to me?"_

_ "Why would I? You don't like my hair—so what?"_

_ He rolled his eyes. "Come _on_. Even Granger stands up for herself. Where's your courage or whatever you Gryffindors believe in?"_

_ I shrugged. "Maybe they sorted me in the wrong house."_

_ "Please," he spat. "You told me off when I was making fun of Shlongbottom. Why can't you do the same for yourself?" I found myself speechless. I opened my mouth, about to say something, when he cut me off. "Don't bother unless you're actually going to say something that tells me off."_

_ Professor Snape walked to the front of the classroom a minute later._

_ I glared slightly at Draco. "At least my hair looks cleaner than yours." With all the gel that was used to slick his hair back, mine at least looked a bit more natural._

_ His face broke into a smirk. "You're getting the hang of it, Hughes. Still a rather lame comeback, though."_

_ Professor Snape used a charm to have our potions float to us. I made a grab for our vial. On it was a little paper that read: O. I glanced at Draco. I didn't really want to ask if that was a good or bad thing. "You may notice," Professor Snape drawled out, "a letter on your vial. The grading system consists of six letters: O, E, A, P, D and T. Outstanding, exceptional, acceptable, poor, dreadful and troll. You should always do your best even if it's sometimes not good enough." I followed his gaze to Harry. He began teaching us about the uses of dogwood and I began to write nearly word for word what he was saying._

_ Before I knew it, the class was over. I jotted down our homework with a quill: A foot long essay about the uses of dogwood._

I looked down at myself. I had been such a nerd back then. I was really glad I decided to kick back and relax eventually. If I hadn't…well, I don't even know what would have really come of anything.

_"Hey, Hughes," Draco said. _

_ "Yes, Draco?" I frowned. He'd be insulting me again, wouldn't he?_

_ "Library at seven?"_

_ "Excuse me?" I asked._

_ "Do you want to work at the library for this assignment?" He shrugged. "You're the only one that knows what she's doing besides that Granger. Plus, I don't really feel like doing it, so…"_

_ "So you want copy my notes?"_

_ "If that's what you're going after," he said, "then yes."_

_ I rolled my eyes. "If you want to copy, I'm not going to stop you. At least I don't have to copy to make myself look smart." I walked off. "I'll see you in the library."_

_ "Be prepared for a barrage of insults, Hughes. You better be up for making yourself seem a little less pathetic." With that sentence, Draco walked off._

My mouth was pulled into a grin as I laughed. How wrong I was. I never cheated, but asking friends for notes, I learned, was very essential in fifth year. Better some notes than none at all, I figured.

* * *

><p><strong>Dear Lord, I'm tired xD All I want to do is sleep, but nooo. Oh wellll.<strong>

**So, maybe if you all review, it might wake me back up so I can write more. :)**

**(Just a thought, haha)**

**-Amehhh**


	6. End of First Year

**Ah...nearing the end of the first year. **

**And, not to mention, summer! Yayyy.**

**I know how lovely you are, and your loveliness will be multiplied ten fold if you read and review. :D**

* * *

><p>I began to get a little queasy. The world around me was changing rapidly and spinning so fast that I could only see bits and pieces of what had happened. Professor Quirrell had run in, alerting the entire school that a troll had broken into the school. I was congratulating Harry on his first Quidditch game and rolling my eyes and Draco who trudged off in an unhappy storm. There was Draco again, who was complaining about the detention he had landed himself in the Forbidden Forest. As always, I was shaking my head and telling him he deserved it. Slowly, I landed in the hospital wing.<p>

_"Hello, Harry," I smiled. I sat a bag of Bertie Bott's Beans on a table that was overflowing with cards and candies. "I heard what happened." I wasn't too sure how to start our conversation. We had never talked in an actual conversation prior to this moment. "You've probably heard this a lot, but it sounds like a pretty amazing adventure from my point of view."_

_ "Yeah," he grinned back. "I have heard it a lot. It's not as amazing as you'd think it would be."_

_ "It's understandable. I'd be terrified. My courage would be out the door. You're really brave. I admire that."_

_ "Thanks. All I'm looking forward to now though, is getting out of this bed."_

_ I laughed. "Fair enough. It seems like a drag." I could hear a group of girls approaching. "I'll see you later, Harry. It seems that you have a fan club, and I don't want to intrude."_

_ He gave me a sarcastic grin. "_Thanks_."_

_ "Don't worry about it," I said. "I'll see you around next year." I waved him goodbye and he gave me one last smile before a group of giggling Hufflepuffs came through the door. I treaded downstairs and greeted Draco, who was passing by. "Wow," I breathed. "This is all so crazy, isn't it? I mean…Harry defeating Voldemort?" _

Being a muggle-born, I didn't really realize the implications I had caused around me by saying his name.

_It looked like Draco's breath hitched. "It's not that great. Anyone with some sense would have been able to know what to do."_

_ I looked at him with an unapproving glance. "Just because you don't like him doesn't mean you have to patronize him all the time. Especially in front of me."_

_ "What's it to you?"_

_ "He's a nice person, Draco. It's not my fault that you're too stubborn to see it." I nearly walked off right then. _

_ Draco stopped me by saying, "Every nice person can be an ass every now and then."_

_ "You can be a bit of an…" I paused. I never necessarily used a swear word before. "Ass. And you're hardly nice."_

_ He looked slightly appalled. "I've been nice to you this entire year. And for what? Absolutely nothing. This is the thanks I get?"_

_ I rolled my eyes as we walked to the Great Hall. "You don't _have_ to be nice to me, Draco. In fact, I don't even really know why we're talking. Because you like copying my notes, is my best guess. Why are we even friends?" It was an innocent question—honestly! He did not seem like the person to communicate with the Gryffindors unless it was to insult them for no good reason. I truly did wonder why he even bothered speaking to me (in a mostly) pleasant way._

_ "We met before school even started. You seemed rather stupid—"_

_ "Hey!"_

_ "But you appeared intelligent enough to at least get into Ravenclaw or even Slytherin. Even _I_ think there are some idiots in the Slytherin House. Crabbe and Goyle…you could have easily taken both of their places." He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Idiots."_

_ "So…are we friends?" I asked, still unaware of our relationship._

_ "No. Not at all," he bluntly said. "It's enough having to be study partners with you. My reputation would be destroyed if people thought we were actually friends."_

_ "So if people ask you if we're friends, and that we're going for that…inter-house unity thing, what do you say?"_

_ "I use you so I can copy your notes. They're very useful. Especially in the History of Magic. It's a surprise I can even stay awake in that class. Thank Merlin it's over." It always surprised me a little bit when people said 'Thank Merlin' instead of 'Thank God;' no matter how often I heard it, it still felt foreign to my ears. "There's no way I'd ever be friends with a _Gryffindor_."_

_ "So if you're just using me for my knowledge why are we talking like friends? I mean, if we aren't friends, you don't ever want to be friends" my heart sank a little bit "and you don't believe in the inter-house unity thing." _

_ "Because," he sighed dramatically, "if I were to not talk to you at all, there would be very little chance that you'd even consider giving me your notes, regardless if I threatened you into it."_

I laughed out loud and was very happy nobody could hear me. His father being the basis of his threats never really made me worried or scared in the least.

_We walked to the Great Hall and separated just as we entered it. With him not wanting to be seen with me, we split off to our righteous tables. Harry joined our table soon after. Dumbledore appeared not a moment too soon and began to deliver a speech from the High Table. Slytherin banners were draped on the wall—Draco had a smug look on his face. _

_ I was fairly distracted—that was, until he began dishing out points to our table. Ron was first, and then Hermione, and then Harry. We were 150 points up—not to mention tied with Slytherin. Our entire table broke out into a deafening cheer. _

_ "There are all kinds of courage," began Dumbledore. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."_

_ Neville was sitting next to be, his mouth slightly agape. Along with others, I pounced and gave him a big hug. The table erupted into an explosion of cheers and applause and shouts. When I released Neville, I looked over to Draco. We made eye contact, and now it was my turn to give him a smug look. With a glare, he turned away and slumped in his seat._

When I blinked, I recognized the scenery. I hadn't been there many times, but it was enough to make a difference. It was later in the day, and everyone was lining up beside the train, waiting to get inside.

_ "Hughes." Draco nudged my side._

_ "Draco."_

_ He rolled his eyes and began to drag out, "Thanks for letting me use your notes."_

_ "Why're you thanking me?" I asked him, almost appalled that he had said something worthwhile._

_ "When people thank you, you're supposed to say 'you're welcome,'" he sneered._

_ "Well, you're welcome," I told him, "But why?"_

_ He looked at me as if I had been born yesterday. "They're called manners. Obviously _you_ haven't heard of them."_

_ "Whatever, Draco. I'll relish those words for the longest time, you do realize that?"_

_ Draco shrugged. "I suppose. I'll see you next year—I'm going to catch a seat with Crabbe and Goyle. Until next year, Hughes."_

_ Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Bye, Draco." When I boarded the train, I was in a compartment shared with Neville and Seamus. I couldn't wait for my next year—especially if it was as exciting as this one._

I shook my head. The next year wasn't so much exciting as it was absolutely terrifying—and for a good reason, too.

* * *

><p><strong>FINALLY. The end of the first year. That was a little difficult to write. <strong>

**Why are they so young? D:**

**Any answers to this question? **

**Remember, I'd love to get your feedback on this story, if something seems a little off and whatnot. :)**

**Take a little five seconds to review, please?**

**Because you're all awesome.**

**-Amehhh**


	7. The Word and The Bludger

**Hey guys!**

**I'm not dead! **

**Sorry for the _horrendously_ long wait, but luckily, the last day of school is today! :)**

**Which means, no more SATs (until next year), no more finals, and definitely no more annoying people!**

**But not you guys. Because I love you guys.**

**And it would mean a lot to me if you would read and review. 3**

* * *

><p>My first summer home from Hogwarts flew by quickly—nothing especially good happened, except for when I got my letter which allowed me to go to Diagon Alley again. The train at King's Cross flew by me as well. The spinning world in which I was in seemed to slow down as I saw Draco and my redheaded self give an awkward smile. He said something which sounded like an insult on my pale skin and few freckles. I looked down at my skin. I never tanned easily, and he never let me forget it.<p>

Instead of landing at the beginning of the year, I landed partway through the year, where I was sitting with Draco in the library patronizing him about the uses of asphodel and where to find it.

_My mouth curled upwards into a smile as Draco told me the good news—he was on the Slytherin Quidditch team. "That's great! Congratulations!"_

_ He gave me a true smile and told me, "Yeah, we even have new brooms because of it—Nimbus 2001's. They're a lot better than Potter's."_

_ "I'm sure you'll do wonderfully in the first game. I'll be cheering for you."_

I never made the connection that his father had bought not just Draco, but the entire team the new broomsticks until the first game. I shook my head at my foolishness, but smiled altogether. It was all too much like what Draco would do, anyways.

_"And then that _Mudblood_ Granger had to ruin my good mood." He rolled his eyes and put on a vicious scowl._

_ "Wait…what did you just call her?" I asked him in angry confusion._

_ He didn't see my confusion, so instead he just responded: "A Mudblood. I never asked for her opinion. She really shouldn't be sticking her head in other people's conversations—what of it? Do you not like that word? Does it…offend you?" He said the last two words in such a way to provoke me to be angry._

_ Regardless of how he said them, from the moment I heard the word 'Mudblood' I could infer what it meant—especially when I knew Hermione's parents were muggles and mine were too, as well. "It offends me that you used that word in an insulting way on my friend!" _

_ The librarian glared at me and "shh"ed all the while._

_ "Oh," he gave a short laugh, "this is priceless. Who would have thought you would be offended by that word? All respectable wizards and witches don't associate themselves with the lesser kind—wouldn't you agree?"_

_ I stood up and grabbed my books and parchment in a fury. "No, I do _not_. When you get a shred of decency through that thick skull of yours, _then_ you can talk to me. Until then, take your own notes," I scowled. With one last dirty look, I stormed off. The nerve of him. He knew better than to say something like that._

When I thought about it, he really _did_ know better than to say that. In fact, he probably said it just so that I'd get pissed off—I had talked to Harry and Ron recently (well, in that time frame), and I stuck up for them. Which…probably made him angry. I wasn't sure why it made _him_ angry as he kept making it seem he was only using me. Then again, he probably didn't want me to help anyone else with their notes and essays.

I walked after myself (and with my larger leg span, it was easier to keep up) and kept thinking of all the possibilities that made him say that.

The next thing I knew, I was trudging into the stands to sit next to Hermione and Ron. It was the first game of the season: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. I watched myself pull a Gryffindor themed scarf tighter around my neck. It didn't matter what season it was—I was almost always cold.

_"Hi, Hermione," I said gruffly. _

_ "Hello," she scooted over for me. "How're you doing?"_

_ "I'm alright. I'm still angry at Draco."_

_ She gave me a look that told me I should know better. "You're too nice for him. I don't really see why you two hang out as much as you do. But whatever works for you, I guess," she shrugged. _

_ "I've tried to make him stop being so mean to…well, everyone, but I don't think that there's any hope for him."_

_ As the whistle blew, Hermione and I immediately looked onto the field. Not much was going on at the moment—chasers were chasing and beaters were beating. Harry and Draco sat on their broomsticks, waiting for a sign of the Golden Snitch. _

_ "Where is that bludger going…?" Hermione followed the bludger to its target: Harry. We both shrieked in protest, "Harry!" He took notice soon enough and barely flew out of the way. After a few more attacks, Draco taunted him. I hoped that he noticed my glaring, but as Harry made a dash toward what I presumed was the Snitch, Draco followed suit. For a mere second, I had hoped that Draco would catch the Snitch, since it was his first game and all (beginner's luck, anyways). Soon after the thought came into my mind, the harsh reality returned and I reminded myself that I was still angry with him._

_ Amazingly, even after the 'ooh's and 'ahh's of Harry's smashed arm, he still caught the Snitch. Hermione, Ron, Neville and I erupted into cheers. Hermione, now wide-eyed, followed the bludger—it was still trying to attack him. She ran down to the field, with Ron following her. I didn't feel the need to crowd the boy, so I simply sat on the cold stands, grasping Neville's arm in fear that more than just Harry's arm might be broken. _

_ "Merlin," I muttered. I looked away, afraid that it would hit him again, and loads of blood would splash everywhere—I had never been keen on the sight of blood. What I saw when I looked the other way though, was Marcus Flint shouting at Draco. Draco stood there, unwillingly, with a frown on his face. He did actually seem disappointed in himself. I never imagined that he could feel that way. _

_ A tall man with blonde hair strided over, looked at Draco with contempt, shook his head, and walked away to talk to Professor Snape. Draco had never looked more crushed. He nearly dragged his broom as he walked off the field with the rest of his team. My heart sank a little bit for him. As much of a bully as he was, he got bullied himself quite frequently, and that made me rather sad. _

I now knew the tall man with the blonde hair to be his father. The way he looked down upon Draco so frequently made me sick—he was his only son, the heir, and even though he wasn't the best kid of times, he could be nice when he wanted to be. I couldn't see what Lucius _didn't_ see in him.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, how was that? It's been soooo long since I've written something that wasn't for school. But I'm back in the saddle again. ) <strong>

**Points to whoever can guess whose song that is.**

**Anyways, I'm off to enjoy my summer! And I suggest you should, too. :)**

**-Amehhh**


	8. Enemies of the Heir

**So! Summer has gotten exceedingly...busier than planned.**

**I posted this to celebrate my first legitimate job at Dairy Queen ;)**

**Cones. Are. So. Hard. To. Make.**

**But Blizzards are super fun. :D**

**I would love you absolutely forever and will send you online Blizzards if you read and review.**

* * *

><p>It turned out that the essay I wrote with Draco in my first year ended up being useful. I sat down on a comfy chair in the common room of the Gryffindor house. Hermione had asked what book I found it in—I told her all too easily: it was the thickly bound book entitled: <em>Potions of All Sorts.<em>

_ As I watched Hermione exit through the picture hole and run off to the library, Harry and Ron looked at me. Harry was the one to start the conversation. "You're decent friends with Malfoy, aren't you?"_

_ "Begrudgingly," I muttered. "He doesn't exactly consider us friends." I was still angry at him about the whole ordeal with Hermione._

_ "Could you talk to him about the Chamber of Secrets? You saw what the wall said."_

_ It was true, I did. I've been on my guard ever since. Since "Mudbloods" were next, I was rather cautious. I wouldn't ever let anyone know, though, unless they asked. It wasn't as if I was ashamed of my blood or lineage; it was just that nobody needed to know. Nobody else had been petrified just yet (aside from Mrs. Norris—I felt oddly sad for Filch, he seemed rather distressed). _

_ I nodded. I wouldn't apologize to Draco, but it'd get me a chance to talk to him again. As angry as I was with him, I missed his quick comebacks. "Sure, I'll do it. I doubt he'll tell me anything, though." He was probably angry with me, also._

_ "Thanks," he said with a smile._

_ "No worries," I smiled back at him. It was rather contagious. "It's because everyone thinks he's the heir, huh?"_

_ "That's right," he said, leaning back into the chair and sighing a bit. _

_ "I would think that if he was, he wouldn't be able to get up, his head would be so big." I shook my head. I stood up from my chair. "I'll talk to him now. I'll tell you about it later, Harry." I waved goodbye as I left through the portrait hole. I walked down the moving stairs and into the library where Draco was struggling with an apparent frown on his face. _

_ "You know, Draco, that that potion is used to virtually cure the common cold, and if not that, then cure some of the symptoms." I pulled up a chair next to him._

_ He slammed the book shut and slid it across the table. "Thanks," he spat, as he wrote it down on his parchment. "What're you doing here?"_

_ "You seemed like you needed help. And, I want to talk to you."_

_ "What about?" He asked with venom. _

_ I paused before speaking about it. "The Chamber of Secrets."_

_ Draco rolled his eyes. "Not this again."_

_ "Again?" I questioned._

Had I any sense at all, it would have been obvious that he wasn't the heir, regardless of his lineage and prejudices. He was far too openly arrogant, anyways. If he had been the heir, I wouldn't stop short of believing that half the people I knew would not be living today. It would have been rather sad.

_"You wouldn't believe how many people have been bothering me about it." He gathered his things and began walking away from me._

_ "Actually, I would. And now _I'm_ bothering you about it. Why are you avoiding it? _Are_ you the heir of Slytherin?"_

_ "Of course not. I thought you were smarter than that. If I was the heir, the chamber would have been opened last year…" He looked at me with contempt._

_ "How am _I_ supposed to know this, _Draco_? I'm not exactly _in_ Slytherin."_

_ He shook his head. "I'm not even telling them anything. They all think that they're the heir. It's quite obvious that they're not. You wouldn't believe what the seventh years are telling the first years. I don't bother correcting them, naturally. It's nice to see them run like chickens with their heads cut off."_

_ It turned out that my Draco was back, just as sharp and witty as ever. _

_ "Why do you even want to know? Let me guess," he stopped and leaned against the railing as the stairs moved underneath us. "Potter put you up to this."_

_ "No," I lied._

_ He gave me a pompous smile. "You're lying. You've gotten better, but it's still rather easy to tell. So, he did put you up to this."_

_ I looked at the ground as we stepped off the stairs. "It wasn't like I didn't want to know."_

_ His mouth was slightly agape. "You too? I would have thought that of all people you wouldn't have been the one to question me." He looked a little bit disappointed in me._

_ "Well how was I supposed to know? You go out calling Hermione a you-know-what, and then the wall says 'enemies of the heir, beware?'" I looked at him, half expecting to recognize my point of view._

_ "For some reason, I thought you trusted me."_

_ I wasn't too sure how I was supposed to feel about that. Something about it made me feel guilty. I didn't trust him, but I didn't exactly _not _trust him either. "How am I supposed to trust you?" I said this without thinking. "You say so yourself, we aren't friends. We're merely acquaintances." _

_ "Still. You sided with _Potter_." He looked more annoyed with me than ever._

_ "Was I not supposed to? He's in my house, and he treats me nicely," I explained, looking at him. I had never given Draco a reason to not be nice to me. _

_ "Is that all you want? To be treated nicely?"_

_ "It would be an improvement, I'm sure." We were almost to the dungeons now._

_ "Well, sorry, regardless of our relationship, I'll always make fun of you, that's given," he waved me off. "If it's trust that you want, that's not up to me."_

_ "You could always treat me like I'm your equal," I suggested._

_ He pretended to think for a little bit. "I could, but that wouldn't nearly be as fun. For the transfiguration essay, meet me in the library before dinner." He muttered the password to his commons and entered through the portrait hole._

_ I started to walk back and made it partway until Professor Snape stopped me. "What are you doing down here? You have an essay due tomorrow." He lifted an eyebrow._

_ I gave him a polite smile. "I already finished it."_

_ "Very well. I expect that I'll see you tomorrow in class?"_

_ "Yes, professor."_

_ He nodded toward me and walked toward the dungeons again. I always felt a little on my toes around him, like I shouldn't be sure that what I was seeing was really him. I shrugged the odd feeling off, and began to go back to the Gryffindor commons to tell Harry what I had talked to Draco about. _

I really shouldn't have been surprised when he didn't believe me. Or, he didn't believe what Draco told me. He, Ron and Hermione began to make a Polyjuice Potion to transform into other Slytherins. When Snape had realized that some of his ingredients were missing, he lashed out on the entire student body for about a week, hoping that somebody would crack. Luckily, he never asked me who took them—even now, as I lay in what I assumed was still a bed in the hospital wing, I was a horrible liar.

Draco had told Harry and Ron, or "Crabbe" and "Goyle" the exact same thing. Maybe Draco was somewhat trustworthy after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Tah-dah. Lovely, no?<strong>

**My offer still stands, though.**

**Review and I shall send you an online Blizzard.**

**Because they are super tasty.**

**Just tell me which one you want. And what size.**

**(Oh, and tell me how your mother is acting. Because it's been a week into summer and mine has been bordering the parental and psychobitch fine line. :x Just saying.)**

**Love youuuu.**

**-Amehhh**


	9. End of Second Year

**Ah, nearing the end of second year...**

**Finally, we're moving onto an age that I can actually remember with detail.**

**Well guys, I hope you read and review and I'll catch you on the flipside. (Points to whoever can guess where that's from).**

* * *

><p>I found myself beside Draco—and my other self beside him as well. They were, or rather, we were walking to, if I remembered correctly, the Great Hall. I was gushing to him, completely unnoticing of his apparent faces of disgust.<p>

_"Hermione told me all about it—Ron told her. And Harry told him. I mean, that sounds so incredibly amazing! Don't you think?" I looked at him with a huge grin on my face._

_ "No, I really don't," he frowned. "It's not that great of a feat."_

_ I rolled my eyes. "Had the savior been from Slytherin, would you be gushing to me?"_

_ Draco hesitated. "Of course not," he lied. "Like I said, it's not that great."_

_ "Whatever," I shrugged. "If you say so." My mood brightened again. "_I_ still think that it's pretty great. I mean, when you think about it, who else could have done it?"_

_ By now I had learned all about Harry Potter—his utmost past to the sorcerer's stone and to his recent battle with the basilisk. However this villain who had come up in the world… Voldemort was his name. I wasn't too sure why everyone cringed when his name was said. He's a bad guy, a horrible one at that, but there shouldn't be fear in a name. I just hoped that he'll lay low for the next couple of years—I didn't want to explain _anything_ to my parents about an absolutely evil person in a world that they hardly knew about._

_ "You can shut up about starkid Potter any time you want, you know," he glared at me. "It really isn't as great as you make it out to be. What does it matter to you, anyways? It's not like you haven't been raised around magic."_

_ I was about to open my mouth in an objection, but the loud voices from the Great Hall rang in my ears and it was hard to say a word and have the other be able to hear it. _

_ Draco shoved my shoulder and pushed me away from him before he walked over to the Slytherin table and joined Crabbe and Goyle. _

_ My head hung in shame, a little bit. Our relationship had moved slightly forward from forced study partners to two kids who talked occasionally—and he still had the nerve to ignore me in front of others. That prat, as Ron would say._

_ Dumbledore, with a smile, stepped up to the podium and began a speech of past events and recent events and everything in between. He congratulated some students (including Harry, of course), and acknowledged others. Hermione and I grinned at each other, both of us were still in our pajamas. We screamed and shouted as the rest of the Gryffindor house jumped into applause. Our house had won the House cup for the second year in a row! _

_ Draco sulkily frowned at Harry, who was grinning as wide as he possible could. When Draco and I made eye contact, I gave him a smug smile that I hoped to give off an "I-told-you-so" look. I glanced over at Harry: he gave me a laugh and a grin._

_ Dumbledore now stepped off from his podium and sat down in the middle of the teachers at the High Table. Food magically appeared on our plates as we were now used to it doing and everybody began to eat at a rapid pace. I took Ron's lead and began stuffing myself with chicken, while Hermione seemingly cautiously grabbed nice portions. The noise in the Great Hall had died down considerably—everybody was too busy eating. All faces were near their plates, getting as close to the food as they could possibly get, whereas the teachers weren't as impressed (for they had probably seen the display countless, countless times). They slowly took small portions of their food and cut their foods up into small pieces. _

_ My conversation with Hermione didn't last very long thanks to the delicious foods, and the fact that I needed to pack, still. "I'll see you in a little bit," I said as I stood up from my seat._

_ She nodded, "See you later, Emma," and began to eat some more, occasionally taking a break to tell Ron what a pig he was being. Ron responded with his mouth full of food._

_ I walked out of the Great Hall behind some seventh years who probably wanted to be out of school as soon as possible. Behind me, I heard Draco call out, "Where do you think you're going, Hughes?"_

_ I turned around. "I think I'm going to the Gryffindor girl's dormitories. What about yourself?"_

_ "The Slytherin common room," he told me._

_ A new voice slid its way into our conversation. "Indeed, go and pack, Draco."_

_ Draco looked astonished. "Father! What're you doing here?"_

_ "I had unfinished business," he sneered, and then glanced at me. "Who's this, Draco? Aren't you going to introduce me?"_

_ "Er, right." He seemed to be at a loss for words. "Dad, this is Emma. Emma, this is my father."_

_ "Pleasure," his lips curled up into what I assumed was a smile. He stuck out his hand and I shook it. _

_ "Hello," I looked up at him. My voice ended up being smaller than I had originally intended it to be. "It's nice to meet you." I had never met another friend's parents before here—especially magical ones. I felt like a fool in his eyes, as if I had too little experience in the world, not to mention too nice in comparison._

_ He looked sharply at Draco. "Well? I thought I told you to go pack up."_

_ Once again, Draco seemed to have a hard time finding words. I never thought it was possible for the quick-witted Draco to have trouble doing just that. "Er…right," he gave him an impish smile. "I'll get on that."_

_ Gruffly, he said, "You better get on it." He looked back at me as he began to follow Draco as he ran off. "Goodbye, Emma." He tapped his cane harshly on the stone ground._

_ "Goodbye, Mr. Malfoy," I said with a little wave. What else was I exactly supposed to say? I felt as if he had expected more from me—I'd never been held in so much contempt before. I kept walking, now nearing the stairs. How odd. Was that how Draco was really treated at home, or had Mr. Malfoy simply had a bad day? I tried to clear my head of all questions: I easily failed this assignment. _

_ I couldn't help but think about it as I was packing. My head was hung down, as I was constantly shaking it, trying to get all thoughts out of it. Sadly, nothing really worked to get my mind off of it. Now that I had had a connection with his father, I found myself wanting to know what his mother was like, if he had sibling, where he lived, what he did over the summer, and everything a friend might want to know._

_ Despite our futile conversations, we both didn't really know anything about each other. In fact, we barely knew each other at all._

My mouth turned upwards into a smile. I laughed at how unknowing I was about absolutely…well, everything about the wizarding world and the people inside of it. I sat upon the bed as I was packing, and watched myself. It made me rather happy that I eventually did get to have an insight in his home life. His truly personal life however, ended up being a different story, and who he really was—or wasn't—frightened me.

I could have sworn an owl hooted near my unconscious body.

* * *

><p><strong>I've always imagined Lucius as a total creep...Haha. <strong>

**I have some nice things in store for the next year. So far, it's my favorite (since I've already written it).**

**But anyways, I would love you forever if you'd review.**

**Questions/comments/concerns are always appreciated! :) I'd love to know what you think.**

**Go on, enjoy your summer.**

**-Amehhh**


	10. Of Dementors and Noogies

**Sorry I have been so distant. D: Work, and many, many days wasted at my friend's house.**

**Actually, just today and yesterday she was here.**

**And we watched Harry Potter.**

**For 12 hours straight.**

**Moral of the story? You should read and review. :D**

* * *

><p>Once again, the summer was fairly uneventful: I wrote letters to Hermione, read my textbooks, and did my summer homework. I connected with a few friends from the muggle world, claiming that I had gone to a private boarding school—which wasn't necessarily a lie. Hogwarts was indeed a boarding school. And rather private, as well. I followed myself onto the train from Platform 9 and ¾, and sat in the compartment across the one my younger self had sat in.<p>

The differences were so subtle through the years so now that I looked back on it, they were rather astounding. My red hair had stopped being so pin straight and became more relaxed. My face had gathered freckles contrasting the pale skin despite going outside for most of the summer. Draco walked past the compartment I was in with his usual "friends," Crabbe and Goyle with sneers on their faces. He looked so much more mature than he had the previous year, yet still so young from when I last saw him.

_Draco walked past the compartment that I was in without a second glance—or a first one, for that matter. I looked back at Neville, prepared to make a conversation as the train started to move, but he was preoccupied with keeping Trevor in his hands. After he had felt that he had securely gotten Trevor in place, he looked up, expecting me to say something, it felt like._

_ "So how was your summer?" I asked him. I should really figure out the general area in which he lived—he was a rather pleasant person, and chatting with him over summer would actually be very nice and refreshing, considering he was a calm and shy person, much unlike Hermione and Draco._

That was another thing I found odd about my predicament. By now, Neville and I had had quite a few conversations, and we had taken up studying for Herbology—my worst subject—in the common room every now and then. However, nothing about the events that my mind had conjured from memory included how some people and I became friends and others only acquaintances. I knew, of course, who I was friends with or not, but it made for a rather choppy story. I had talked with Ginny a couple times the previous year, Hermione even more, and Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. The latter two were only acquaintances at the beginning of third year, but it was a start.

_"It was alright. My grandmother and I visited my parents, so…" He trailed off, seeming as though he didn't really feel like talking about his parents. I hardly ever pushed the subject: every time I did, he got flustered._

_ "That's pretty cool. My parents and I went to London—we live in Surrey. So it was pretty fun. We almost never go to London."_

_ "Yeah, it's very nice."_

_ "So, did you get any awesome new plants?"_

_ "Just some basic Muggle and magical ones…my grandmother doesn't want to spend a lot of money if it's just a phase. And, they're easy to practice on. We bought a book or two on some rare plants. They're rather fascinating, you know."_

_ Typical Neville: once you started him up on the subject of plants, he became a regular chatterbox. He started talking about a plant he had read about: Mimbulus Mimbletonia. He rambled on for a couple minutes until an odd looking girl opened our compartment._

_ "Hello," she said in a misty toned voice. "Is this compartment taken?"_

_ "Not at all," I scooted over so she could sit down. Her hair cascaded much farther past her shoulders, and she began to read The Quibbler upside down._

_ "Say, what're you reading?" I asked her. I had seen a couple students reading at it, not to mention laughing at it. _

_ "The Quibbler. It has many interesting stories. My father is the editor. It talks of many magical creatures that not many people know about. Have you heard of snarkles?"_

_ "No," I began with a somewhat peppy voice, "I…haven't," but ended with a voice that was very much less than happy. "Does it feel cold in here to you, too?" I rubbed my arms furiously. We had all taken notice to a crackling sound, and looked over to our window—it was now frosted over. Our compartment door was the same way. "What's going on? Is this some kind of freaky Hogwarts tradition?"_

_ "No, I don't believe so," the girl said in the same misty voice._

_ "Do you know what's going on?" Neville stuttered._

_ She shook her head. "No, I don't."_

_ Luna kept reading her magazine as Neville and I looked to the source of the cold. A large, floating hooded figure came by, looked in, and moved on. I felt so incredibly sad. I kept reminding myself of all those times Draco had made fun of me—whether it was meanspiritedly or in jest. I had thought back to that time I had lost the spelling bee in the fifth grade. I had thought back to when I had received an "adequate" grade in physical education instead of an "outstanding" grade. When I accidentally scored a goal in soccer against my own team._

It wasn't just my younger self's compartment that had frozen over. The compartment that I was watching myself from (now, that didn't sound narcissistic at all) had become difficult to see through with the amount of frost and ice that coated the glass. As far as I could tell, everything had stopped moving in the compartment my younger self was in. When I glanced back, I realized that it was not just their compartment, but the one I was in as well. The pair of Hufflepuffs that were talking before the dementor showed up were now frozen solid in place.

Nothing was happening. I wasn't being transported to another time and another place, and I certainly didn't remember freezing in place after the dementor came by. How was I supposed to carry on with this odd trip of events? How was I even supposed to get back to real life? I had only assumed that when I finished the sixth year, I would wake up and everyone would be happy that I was alive. Or something like that. Come to think of it, what had even happened to me to make me be in this state? Considering almost every scene I had come across in my mind had had Draco in it, I figured he would have been part of the cause—or at least, the symptom.

For the first time in a very long time, I spoke. "I want to go to the Great Hall."

Just like that, it worked. It felt as if I had apparated there (which was by all means legal considering I had my license). I sat next to myself, who was sitting next to Neville. Next to him were Fred and George.

_"That little git," George said. "He wasn't so cocky last night when the dementors were down at our end of the train. Came running into our compartment, didn't he, Fred?" He laughed._

_ "Nearly wet himself," said Fred. He looked at Draco with a contemptuous look on his face. _

_ The Golden Trio—as they were now called—Neville and I began to laugh, stealing glances at Draco. He caught sight of us all laughing and looking at him, and glared. After he figured that his glare was bad enough to kill, he carried on with his horrible rendition of Harry fainting in his compartment. Word got around fast. (And at least _Harry_ didn't nearly wet himself). Come to think of it, Harry had fascinated me for a little while now…_

_ I shook my head, trying to think nothing of it. It was nearly time to get to my first class—Divination. I had heard older students talking about it; creating many weeks worth of bad luck from the figments of their imagination. "I'll be going, all. Divination calls." I hadn't even been to the north tower before—so I left a few minutes early. Who's to say I wouldn't get lost?_

_ "Hughes," a clearly noticeable voice called out as I nearly made it halfway to my lesson._

_ "Draco," I said, turning to face him._

_ "How's your crush on Potter doing? I'd say not very well—it hardly looks as if he even knows you're alive. I thought you Gryffindors were supposed to be brave. Why not just go up to him and tell him?" _

_ "No hello?" _

_ He simply gave me a small smirk._

_ "For that matter, I do _not_ have a crush on him, regardless that he is a very nice and well mannered person."_

_ "As if that matters. I saw you look at him this morning," Draco said, clearly trying to set me on edge._

_ I'd known him too long for him to be able to make me flustered in such a short amount of time. "Well, at least_ he_ didn't nearly wet himself after the dementor came by."_

_ He froze in place. "Who told you that rubbish?"_

_ "If it's rubbish, then why are you so nervous?" I walked up to him, imitating the confrontational moves I had watched him do so many times. "Could it possibly be that it's true?" I smiled widely—Fred and George may exaggerate things, but they never told lies._

_ "Well, _Emma_—"_

_ He said my name so nicely._

_ "—if it were true, I certainly couldn't be here talking to you with such…poise." He wrapped his arm around my neck and I froze. We barely talked as equals last year…what in the world was he up to?_

_ "Draco…what are you doing?" I had nothing to lose by asking him._

_ "Does my touch make you feel uncomfortable?" He gave a short, stunted laugh. "Your face is matching your hair."_

_ I was positive my face became even redder as I became more flustered. "N-no," I stuttered, "it doesn't make me feel uncomfortable."_

_ "Even if I did…this?" His face came closer to mine and we made eye contact. His were perfectly calm, where my eyes were wide open with fear of what he was going to do. It was hard to let my guard down around him. _

_ Before I knew it, my head was locked between his side and his arm, and his fist was furiously giving me what we called in the muggle world: a noogie. Dear Lord, it hurt even more than an Indian rugburn. _

_ "Ow! Ow! Draco—stop. It. It hurts_!"_ I pleaded in protest._

_ "What's the magic word?" He questioned in a relaxed tone of voice._

_ I had found myself stumped as my head seriously began to burn. The magic word in our world was "Please? Mercy? Uncle! Ow, Draco, stop, it really hurts!"_

_ He let go of my neck, which was now sore along with my burning head. _

_ "None of those were it, but I'm rather curious as to why you chose those. I wonder—"_

_ "When you just hurt a person like that, nothing sensible really comes to mind!" I put a hand on my head, attempting to calm it._

_ "Okay then, Hughes. Have fun glorifying Potty at Divination." He turned to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing," he said as he turned around once more, making me stop yet again from going to my destination, "nice hair."_

He was rather right—my hair was an utter mess. It was frizzy now, and stuck up a couple more inches. It gathered in some places, and not the others, and had maintained some knots. It certainly had more volume, though. Maybe whenever I got out of this trance-like state, I'd thank him. That is, if I could contact him. Something told me that he wasn't easy to get a hold of.

* * *

><p><strong>And there you have it. Third year is on its way.<strong>

**But now, I am tired and hungry, and I am not sure which has a higher priority.**

**However, one of your priorities should be to review like the absolutely lovely and beautiful people that you are. :)**

**No joke.**

**You're all gorgeous.**

**-Amehhh**


	11. Hippogriffs and Sirius Black

**So...I kept writing and writing, because I felt that I was getting off balance with updating and actually writing.**

**Turns out, I've been taking so much time writing and not updating that I'm 20 pages ahead of myself. )**

**Which, of course means I can update SO MUCH faster now. **

**They would come evenfasterfasterfaster if you'd read and review. :D**

* * *

><p>After some sort of rotation that seemed as if I were apparating yet again, I fell onto a pile of dirt and leaves, on the near edge of the Forbidden Forest. In front of me were very large hippogriffs. Scrambling to get to my feet, I ran to where the class was standing. Regardless that they couldn't see me, I didn't want them to be near me (for I didn't even bow). Luckily, Hagrid's class was one that I was particularly keen to be in—not that I was good at that class, but it was the few that I could really let loose. Muggle animals always seemed to be a problem for me, but magical ones and I really seemed to connect.<p>

Everybody in the class except for Harry stepped backwards when being offered to go up to a hippogriff.

_Hagrid had untied one of the hippogriffs and led it away from its other hippogriffs. "Easy now, Harry. Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink…Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much…"_

_ I held my breath. I was rather glad that I wasn't up there. Sometimes I found it odd why I was placed in Gryffidor. When bravery was in question, it came and went as it pleased. Especially when big, proud animals were in the equation. I was perfectly fine with feeding flobberworms. Flobberworms and I connect quite well._

_ The hippogriff bent down into a bow, and everyone seemed to release their breaths at the same time. Hagrid congratulated him, and told him to go up and pet its beak. Harry looked less than pleased, but did as told. _

_ "Righ' then, Harry," Hagrid said, "I reckon he might let yeh ride him! Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint, and mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' like that."_

_ Harry unsteadily climbed on and barely had a second to grasp its neck before it took off and flew around the grounds. Everyone looked upwards in awe, until the two of them disappeared from sight. _

_ Draco laughed. "You don't suppose he fell off, do you?" Crabbe and Goyle gave chortles of laughs while Pansy shrieked in laughter. I sent him a glare, as did Ron and Hermione and others of the Gryffindor houses. Parvati and Lavender merely shook their heads, muttering about the tea leaves in Harry's cup._

_ When Harry and the hippogriff landed back on the solid earth, Hagrid exclaimed, "Good work, Harry! Okay, who else wants a go?" _

_ Draco, Crabbe and Goyle didn't look very happy, but took over Buckbeak as Harry sat out for round two. I walked over to one that Hagrid had recently untied. I stood a few feet back, but attempted to not blink my eyes as I made eye contact and bowed in front of the large beast. Thankfully, he bowed back and I released another breath of air I hadn't realized I had been holding. I stepped closer to him, hoping that he wouldn't spread his wings, wanting to take me on a ride. His beak, I found, wasn't hard and cold, but hard and…slightly fuzzy. Or, maybe it was just the part that I was petting. _

_ Buckbeak was fairly close to my hippogriff, and I could easily hear it as Draco said, "This is very easy. I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it…I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you? Are you, you great ugly brute?"_

The moment the words came out of his mouth, I knew it was a bad move.

_The hippogriff reared up, and in the flash of an eye, Draco let out a scream and was on the ground with blood seeping out of his robes. "I'm dying!" He yelled as everyone began to run away from their hippogriffs and behind Hagrid. "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!" _

_ I knew very well that he was not dying, and that he was being melodramatic. Yet…the blood curdling from his robes made me uneasy. He did rather look that he was in a lot of pain. I wanted to run to him and comfort him for some odd reason. I'd probably do it for anyone that got gashed by a hippogriff. Before I could do anything about it, Hagrid lifted him up and began running him to what I assumed was the Hospital Wing._

_ It all seemed to have happened very fast. Slytherins were shouting obscenities about and toward Hagrid's general direction and Pansy ran after the two. Ron even commented, "Did you see the gash in his arm? It's bloody horrible."_

_ I had expected there to be a large cut, but the blood that was on the grass and stepping stones made me feel a little faint. I had never witnessed so much blood before, and it was unsettling. I couldn't get the smell out of my nose. It smelled of copper. I accidentally stepped in some droplets of his blood. _

_ Blood._

_ His blood._

_ Draco's blood._

_ I felt guilty. I felt ashamed. I couldn't believe that I had stepped in his blood. I didn't know what I felt._

I looked at myself as I swayed as I walked. She wasn't the only one who didn't enjoy it. I myself swooned. My stomach was growling, rumbling, and I felt as if I was going to throw up. This happened to me every time I saw that much blood. I put my hands over my eyes, and I nearly fell over. Now, wouldn't that be interesting? Passing out while being unconscious. It would probably put me in limbo.

The next thing I knew, I had found myself in front of the Gryffindor common room, but behind a crowd of students. This was very odd, as I could only remember—that would be it, wouldn't it? The day that the Fat Lady fled was the only day that absolutely nobody could get into the house. It was a rather frightening day for everyone, even the Slytherins, once the facts of Sirius Black's whereabouts caught wind. It was an unsettling thought that someone so feared could get in so easily to Hogwarts.

Sirius Black was occasionally the topic for the Golden Trio. I never caught on to what they were talking about, but Hermione let me know in a flustered voice at the end of fifth year that, "He's dead, and he has always been wrongly accused." I knew nothing else about him, considering nobody knew of his loyalties after that moment. After filtering through students, I finally found myself.

_I was standing next to Dean Thomas, who was currently telling me about what had happened, considering he was much taller than me, and all of the seventh years decided to stand in the front. "The Fat Lady. She's gone."_

_ "…What do you mean she's gone? She can't just be…gone." I tried standing on my toes, but I still couldn't see very well. People's heads weren't that easy to see through._

_ "She is. There are slashes through her painting. Like something tore through it," he curled his fingers, and drew his hand in a downward motion. "They're awful large tears." _

_ "Let me through please," I heard Percy say. I moved over so he could get by. His voice was one that I had heard too many times. I admired his respect for the rules, but there's a fine line between being strict and being a bit psycho about them. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password—excuse me, I'm Head Boy—" Everyone became immediately quiet as he looked up at the painting, I assumed. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quick."_

_ Dumbledore seemed to make haste as he rushed over to the painting and looked at it quickly. "We need to find her," he said, looking towards Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape. "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."_

_ As Peeves responded, I figured that I would hate to be a painting and be called "fat" by everyone. I wasn't sure if I was to be interested in what he had to say—he had pulled a prank or two…or three on me. It never was as funny for me as it was for him. _

_ I had missed a couple lines of the conversation, but that was alright. "Did she say who did it?" Asked Professor Dumbledore._

_ "Oh yes, Professorhead," said Peeves, "he got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."_

_ All four houses had been ushered out of their respective houses and into the Great Hall. Everyone was whispering harshly, and still, Professor Dumbledore spoke. I couldn't catch all of what he said, but the doors closed, the tables lined the walls, and purple sleeping bags appeared on the floor. _

_ A familiar voice invaded the area. "Pansy, go away. It hurts, and that stupid brute will get what it deserves, but I'll be fine without you nagging me all the time."_

_ Taking that as my cue, I walked up. "Hey."_

_ Gruffly, he said, "Hughes. How are you on this absolutely lovely night?"_

_ "Was that sarcasm? Because I couldn't tell," I rolled my eyes. "Concerned. This Sirius Black guy…The Prophet mentions him all the time, he's in Azkaban…er, was...but they never say what he was in there for. Could you please…explain this to me?" I'd have asked anyone else, but they all seemed to fret, discussing ways that he could have possibly gotten inside of Hogwarts, with all the dementors afoot (even though they floated) and protective measures. _

_ "Are you being serious? My arm _hurts_, I'm going to bed."_

_ I grabbed his arm. "You're telling me. Regardless of your fake injury."_

_ He sighed dramatically. "Sit down." We both sat down on the somewhat comfortable sleeping bags. The third years and youngers saw him sit, and they followed suit. Great, that would go swell—Slytherins and Gryffindors would be sleeping next to each other. "Sirius Black," Draco drawled out in a bored voice, "was in Azkaban for twelve years, before he decided to somehow break out. Have you heard of Peter Pettigrew?"_

_ I shook my head, "No."_

_ "Rumor has it that he was in the works with the Dark Lord," he said with a daunting voice, purposely trying to make it sound like a ghost story. "He and Peter Pettigrew were in the same vicinity, when something happened, and he used the killing curse…once." He held up a finger. "With that one curse, he killed thirteen people. Pettigrew was one of them. All they could find of him was his finger—and they sent it to his mother. And now that Black is on the loose, you could be next!" With that he shoved me so that I landed backwards with a small shriek on the bag. _

_ "Draco!"_

_ "Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't let him hurt you. Scare you at best," he grinned, "but never hurt you."_

_ A small smile played on my face for a less than a second before it turned into a grin. "Does this mean that we're friends?"_

_ His smile fell, and he looked at me with bored eyes. "Absolutely not."_

_ "Come on, Draco Malfoy…admit it. You consider me a friend."_

_ "The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"_

_ "You heard him, shut up." _

_ I rolled my eyes with a grin, just happy that it took only…what was it now, three years to become friends. I tucked myself into the bag as I rolled to face Draco, watching Pansy's outraged face at learning that Blaise Zabini was in the bag next to him, and not her. "Night, Draco." _

_ "Night, Emma."_

_ "Did you just call me—"_

_ "No."_

* * *

><p><strong>And there we have it. Chapter 11, is it? This story is so far along ;_; <strong>

**...Not really.**

**I have no clue what to write after this xD Ideas?**

**But anyways, I'd love for you to review and tell me what you liked/disliked about this chapter, or the story in general so far. :)**

**Loooooove you**

**-Amehhh**


	12. Of Snowball Fights and Sprained Wrists

**Ohmygoodness it's been too long! But, surprise surprise, I haven't forgotten about you!**

**I kept telling myself that I'd update again and again, but I keep having to work and on my off days I'm like, psh, I don't want to do anything that requires _effort_. So, for a little mini-rant, I've worked two days in a row (which at the moment is uncommon for me), I'm on standby tomorrow, but my boss told me I have to come in anyways, and I'm going to be leaving for a family reunion soon, so I have to work the first two days of the next week. So, that's five days in a row. Yay.**

**Well, actually, yes yay. Because that means a lot of money.**

**But ANYWAYS. I will do my very best to update before my reunion. :D**

**Here's the chapter that I know you have all been _dying_ to read.**

* * *

><p>The third years all lined up in front of their respective heads of house, waiting to turn in their permission slips so that they could run to Hogsmeade for the first time of their lives. They were all so young and unknowing of the wonders that awaited them. Honeydukes, The Three Broomsticks…I closed my eyes in a reminiscent way, almost smelling the butterbeer…<p>

Actually, I did smell it. When my eyes opened, I was standing in front of it, and so was my younger self. However, I wasn't wearing the same clothes as I was before…my hair fell down around my face as a green hat was upon my head, and a Gryffindor themed scarf was pulled tightly around my neck.

_Honeydukes wasn't all that far away. Was it? I had only been here three times before, but the weather was really starting to get to me. My face was flushed red and my breath was visible at all angles. _

_ "Out of my way, Hughes," Draco pushed past me._

_ "What's your damage, Draco?" I turned around, going in the opposite direction of my long lost love and its sugar quills to find out what was wrong. I nearly had to jog to keep up with him._

_ "What's _my_ damage? Potter and his stupid friends pelted me with snowballs. Crabbe and Goyle, the lugs, ran off before I could even get up. I never expected them to have it in them, to exert such energy, that is. Who does he think he is?" He ranted. Fuming, he continued. "Harry freaking Potter does whatever he wants, when he wants. There just aren't any repercussions for him, are there?"_

_ "You know Draco," I suggested, "you could try to not care. Or just let it go."_

_ He gave me a mean look. "Right."_

_We were by the steps at Hogwarts, and I made him sit down on the snow with me. "If it were me, I would have taken advantage of the situation, too."_

_ "What do you mean?" He asked, looking rather unpleased with my seating arrangements._

_ "Had I been Harry," I said as I grabbed some snow on the other side of me, "I would have done this a lot sooner," and flung it at his face._

_ He looked rather shocked, as if he was surprised that I had the guts to assault him in such a childish manner. His face fell after a few moments, and turned into a small smile. "Good one, good one. I didn't exactly expect that, I have to admit." He scooted closer to me, and put his arm around my shoulder. "You know," he began softly, "I never noticed your skin looked so soft." He took off his glove from the hand that wasn't attached to the arm currently around my shoulder, and ran his now bare, warm hand down my red cheek to my neck, which was slightly exposed now, due to the jogging he made me do. He sighed. "It's a shame, though."_

_ "What's a shame?" His touch felt different this time. He wasn't pushing me or shoving me against a wall or on his shoulder. It felt more caring, more—_

_ I shrieked as cold snow touched my skin. "Draco! What the—"_

_ He laughed at my expense. Such schaudenfreude. Not that I wasn't used to it by now. I flung more snow at his face, only to have even more shoved down the back of my shirt. The snow crunched as I ran out and began to build a fort. "What on Earth are you doing?" He asked. My fort began to grow bigger and sturdier as I didn't respond and rushed to complete it. Slowly, Draco walked up with a quizzical look on his face. It was soon replaced with a frown as I pelted a snowball at him. He glared down at me and backed up, throwing snowballs all the while._

_ As he started to build his fort, I stocked up on snowballs. I was a pro at this—there was no way he could even begin to win. _

_ "Are you ready to—"_

_ He was cut off by a snowball hitting him in the face. I laughed as the frozen water fell from his nose._

_ "Oh, so we're doing headshots, are we? I _was_ going to be civil about this, but…" He aimed and threw one that almost hit my shoulder._

_ "You have to do better than that, Draco. You can't beat me at my own game!" I taunted. _

We threw snowballs at each other without taking turns—it was a matter of survival of the fittest. Sometimes people stopped and stared. I wondered what went through their minds to this date. In their eyes, were we having an inter-house rivalry? Or were we two hormonal teenagers helplessly flirting regardless of the differences of the scarves we were wearing? The way that we were looking at each other made me wonder if our scarves mattered at all. I remember not even knowing the people were there until our arms got too tired to throw anything else. Our mouths were pulled into large grins, and laughs were spilling off of our tongues.

Maybe it had all really started right then. I looked too happy to not make me think that. Had the seed been planted, had inception begun? It must have. It must have been when I really began thinking that maybe…he wasn't all that bad looking, his laugh didn't sound all that bad, when he said "Hughes," or "Emma," how nice it sounded, how we had formed something rather solid when others were still struggling, how we could hate and hate and hate each other but still be friends again in the end.

It had to have happened right then.

_We laughed as we stomped through our horribly made forts and attempted to throw our last snowballs at each other. Who knew how long we had been here? I tried not to look around—people were staring as they walked by. Slowly, we fell to the ground, as our arms were utterly sore and we were off our balance. _

_ "I'd say that that was a tie," Draco said, turning to look at me and lifting up my hand and arm from the snow covered ground._

_ "I don't think so, it was very clear that I won. Considering I hit you at the very least twice as much as you hit me." I looked over at my arm. "Ow, that hurts," I pulled my arm away from him. "I think I'm _really_ sore if this is how I feel now."_

_ "You're such a wuss. Man up."_

_ "I would if I could." I closed my eyes in relaxation for a split second and returned to an upright position. "I'm getting wet," I declared, "Let's go inside for some cider." Surprisingly, he followed suit instead of rolling his eyes and complaining that I needed to put my big girl panties on and deal with it. As the heat of the castle rushed towards us and as we trudged to the Great Hall in nearly soaked clothes, my arm began to hurt even more. "Hey, you go ahead. I'm going to go to the Hospital Wing. Bring me some cider, will you?"_

_ "I'm not getting you any if you aren't coming with."_

_ I rolled my eyes. Why did things have to be so difficult with him? And people say _girls_ are the complicated ones. "Fine," I groaned, now cradling my arm. We walked to our respective tables in the Great Hall and grabbed cider that was strategically placed and met up back at the large doors. "Are you ready to go now? You're not going to grab onto my cider so that it burns me?"_

_ "That hurts, Emma. Am I really that cruel?" He feigned a hurt face._

_ I gave him a sarcastic look. "Yes, you are, actually," I droned as I began to walk to the Hospital Wing. _

_ He gave a winded blow. "Ouch."_

_ When we reached the Hospital Wing, I noticed that the Muggle Studies professor was in there. "Hello, Professor Burbage," I greeted with a smile._

_ Draco snorted from the side of me._

_ "Hello, Emma. How are you today?"_

_ "I'm okay. I hurt my arm a little bit, so…what are you up here for if you don't mind me asking?"_

_ Draco nudged me. "I'm going to find Crabbe and Goyle. They've got to have some kind of sweets on them, and I'm hungry." He lifted the glass of cider from my hand and took a large swig of it and placed it back. "See you around, Hughes."_

_ I lifted the arm that didn't hurt to wave goodbye._

_ Professor Burbage gave me a kind smile. "I lifted something a little too heavy and it threw out my back."_

_ I gave her an odd look. "Couldn't you have just used a spell? I mean, I know you're the Muggle Studies teacher, but…"_

_ "Ah," she looked pleased, "That was the point."_

_ "Oh," I laughed. "If it were me, I would have used the spell. I hate heavy lifting. Not that I could lift anything heavy, that is."_

_ "What did you say was wrong with your arm, Miss Hughes?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she began inspecting my arm gingerly. _

_ "It just started to really, really hurt."_

_ "Do you know what probably could have caused this?"_

_ "Earlier, one of my friends pulled on my arm rather hard…and then Draco and I had a snowball fight. For a good long while."_

_ "Well, it looks to me as if you have a sprain. I can fix that up in a pinch."_

_ "Actually," Professor Burbage interjected, "Emma, I was wondering, a sprain isn't too unbearable, correct? I have only healed mine the magical way, so I have no experience with muggle healing. If it is alright, and with your permission, could you heal it the muggle way? Textbooks are not a comparison for the real thing."_

_ "Um…" I gave a moment to think about it. I didn't have anything to lose, did I? "Sure, why not? It can't be that bad." I looked up to Madam Pomfrey. "Is that okay?"_

_ "I suppose it is. It will just be more painful." She shot a look at Professor Burbage, who simply smiled. "_Ferula_," she muttered. A splint and bandages put themselves in place around my wrist and arm. "Come back every day," she began as she opened a cupboard, "to take some of this. It will keep the pain down." _

_ "Thank you Madam Pomfrey," I smiled with my new cast on, then drank a cup of that horrid potion._

_ "Don't worry about it, dear." _

_ She started to tend to Professor Burbage again, who started talking once more, "If you would, would you occasionally stay after class a little bit so that I could talk to you about it? Muggle medicine really is fascinating."_

_ I laughed. "I personally prefer magical medicine. It's so much more interesting, to be honest. I'm tired of bandaids when I can just use a spell. It's cheaper and efficient. I'll see you sometime next week, Professor. Goodbye, you two."_

That was a very interesting experience, I must say. The one time I sprain my wrist and have the opportunity to get it healed with magic, I ended up healing it with time and laughter. But mostly time. The scene froze around me again, and I decided that I was a little bit tired of watching myself. So, naturally, I layed down on a bed in the wing and closed my eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. xD<strong>

**But I need to think of my own plot instead of just leeching off of JK Rowling's books.**

**I have a feeling that Draco was a little bit out of character this chapter but OH WELL. It's a fanfiction, is it not? How else am I supposed to be turning this into a love story? ;)**

**Anyways, if you noticed any errors or have any comments good or bad (hopefully good?) I would _love_ (seriously. love) to hear from you. They put a smile on my face and I make an effort to write even faster!**

**Have a wonderful...oh gee. One month left of summer. :( Sad.**

**But have a wonderful something.**

**-Amehhh**


	13. Draco's Apology

**Well, I decided to update before I left without my computer at my family reunion. :)**

**So, here is the next chapter at least until next Wednesday. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>I rolled my eyes as Draco approached my younger self and spat, "How's your wrist, Hughes?"<p>

_"Madam Pomfrey says that it should be okay in a couple more weeks," I told him._

_ "A couple more weeks? Please, mine should be healed in at least one more."_

_ "_Yours_," I told him, "was a complete and utter fake injury, and everyone knows it. Except for Pansy, but that's a different case."_

_ He looked rather offended. "Mine is _not_ fake. Besides, why is yours taking so long?"_

_ "I take a long time to heal, honestly. If I get a scab, it'll take at least two weeks to heal over. If I pass out, I'll probably take forever to wake up."_

_ "You can stop lying to yourself. I faked my injury for a _noble_ cause. Why would we want a dangerous beast around our school? I wouldn't want the ugly brute to cause harm to you or my friends."_

_ "Buckbeak _isn't_ an 'ugly brute,' or dangerous. You were just too daft to listen and follow directions. Besides, Madam Pomfrey healed you right up, you said so yourself."_

_ "The emotional damage," he persisted._

_ "Oh, stop being melodramatic. It doesn't suit you," I grimaced._

_ He just shrugged. "And how do you expect me to believe your wrist is sprained? All you did was throw snowballs at me—which, by the way, I still won."_

_ "Whatever you say, Draco. My wrist is sprained because of all the exertion I did on that one day in the winter. And I've already told you I heal slowly. Believe it or not, I don't really care." This was getting rather ridiculous. I suppose Draco was just upset that mine was actually real and his was a rather pitiful attempt of faking it._

_ "I'll ask you again—you expect me to believe your wrist is sprained?" He grabbed my hurt wrist rather sharply._

_ "Ow, Draco, that hurts!" I tried to wrestle my arm from his grip, only to feel a pain run down my arm. "Stop! God, Draco—"_

_ "Why?" He mocked. "Does it hurt?"_

_ "Yes, it does!" I nearly shrieked as he threw my arm down. "You, Draco Malfoy, are an ass. And God be damned if you don't make some form of apology." I stormed off to the hospital wing where I was due for my check up. Madam Pomfrey was going to give me a load once she saw the state of my now bruising wrist. I didn't care what he thought. I hated the git._

No you don't, I smiled. You're just angry at him like you always are.

_If I ever forgive him…I'm a fool._

Then, a fool you must be.

_ Madam Pomfrey sighed. "What happened, Miss Hughes?"_

_ "Draco Malfoy happened," I muttered. _

_ "What did you say, dear?"_

_ "Draco. He pulled on my wrist. He didn't believe me when I told him that it still wasn't healed. He's a load of—"_

_ "We _could_ always heal it with magic, you know. I'm sure you've gone to Professor Burbage enough to satisfy her Muggle-loving needs, hm?" She gave a smile._

_ "I suppose you're right," I smiled back at her and held out my wrist. _

_ "You can set that down, I'll be right back." She entered her office and came out a minute later, with a vial in hand. "Drink this. It will relax the muscles, and mend them. It won't taste pretty, and sugar makes it ineffective."_

_ "Can't you just heal it all with magic?"_

_ "I would if I could, but I don't dare tamper with spells for major muscle or bone injuries. Look at what that blasted professor last year did to Mister Potter. Using a spell, really…A simple potion would have fixed it up in a jiffy. Go on, drink up." Grimacing, I poured the liquid down my throat. My face contorted into a look of utter disgust as I did my best to swallow it and not throw it back up. Thankfully, she handed me a glass of water, probably fully expecting my reaction. "That's a good girl," she mumbled as she took the vial out of my grip. "Just stay here a couple more minutes, and you're free to go." She went back into her office, doing things I could only guess about. The pain intensified for a moment, but calmed down after a couple seconds._

_ Not a moment too soon, my absolute _favorite_ person at the moment jogged in, with his hand covering his nose, which was drenched in blood. "What are you looking at?" he spat._

_ "Your blood. What happened to your face?"_

_ "That mudblood Granger happened. That lousy witch took a strike at my nose. Bloody broke it, I'll say."_

_ "Serves you right, Draco." I glared at him, still quite upset at my now healed wrist._

_ "Oh, are you upset that I hurt your wrist? My bad." He rolled his eyes. "I happen to have a very serious injury."_

_ "Sure you do. Like a sprained wrist isn't an injury or anything. I mean, it's really not anything serious or to be complained about."_

_ "I see you're catching onto my point, exactly." He gave a sarcastic smile._

_ "Talk to me when you have an apology. Maybe then I'll listen." I got off the cot, pulled Draco's hand out from under him so that his blood pooled in his lap, and left in a huff. The nerve of him. Why do I even attempt speak to him? He better come up with a damn apology._

* * *

><p><em> "Hey, Emma."<em>

_ He used my first name. Boy, this will be richer than his parents. "What?" I turned around, crossing my arms, partially expecting him to be a downright prick._

_ His hand was held out in front of him, clasping a lone flower._

_ "It's gorgeous." Sarcasm dripped off my tongue as I turned back around after rolling my eyes, trying to read my book again._

_ "No, no. You see, it's for you."_

_ My eyes squinted and my mouth turned into a tight smile. "You're too kind."_

_ "No, really. It's yours. See?" He set it on top of my book._

_ "What are you really trying to say, Draco? Get some guts." I looked up at him, expecting some sort of explanation._

_ "Well, you see…" He sighed. "It's just that I have this problem. I've gotten to be…"_

_ "You've gotten to be what?" I tried egging him on._

_ "I've gotten to be bad as Crabbe and Goyle on Care of Magical Creatures essays."_

_ I nearly couldn't believe my ears. _That_ was what took him so much damn courage to say? That he needed my help with homework because he was a git incapable of doing it himself? The nerve of him. "The nerve of you!" I picked up my scroll, my quill, and my textbook._

_ Madam Pince 'shh'ed in the background._

_ "What sort of an apology is that? I'm not just some person you can use over and over for…for…homework! Draco, just buck up and do it yourself." I began to walk away from him yet again._

_ "C'mon, Emma. Don't be sore like that. I need you."_

_ That made me stop dead in my tracks. I angled my face to be more towards his. "What did you just say?"_

_ "I need you. Y'know, to help me with this stupid homework stuff. I'm willing to make a compromise with you, even. You don't even have to write my essays or let me copy. Just…help me out, y'know?"_

_ I wasn't too sure how to respond. Should I say no…and I'll lose a friend that took me almost three years to gain. Should I say yes, however…I might end up still doing all the work and being completely taken advantage of. But…he actually looked somewhat sincere, or at least, the most sincere I had ever seen him be. And if he had done as bad as Crabbe and Goyle had done…well, I guess he really did need help. Not that I'd make it easy for him, of course…_

_ "Yeah, I do know. We can try this…compromise of yours. But I feel like I'm being taken advantage of, it's through."_

_ "Sounds like a deal. Shake on it?" He stuck out his hand with a (real?) smile._

_ I looked down at his hand and back up, then grabbed it. "See you around, Draco."_

_ "Don't go just yet—you forgot your flower." He handed it to me._

_ The flower seemed fairly harmless. "It's not going to hex me, is it?"_

_ "Of course not. Flowers can't hex. That is perfectly preposterous, Emma." The look on his face made me wary. I couldn't tell if he was being honest…or honestly lying. He put his arm around me, which made me go rigid. Why was he touching me like this? He was warm, too. Not to mention smelling good…something like the woods._

_Then again, the last time he touched me like this, snow was shoved into my face._

_ A moment after stepping outside of the library, the water I was holding squirted out of it, just like the ones on television did. "Draco Malfoy," I glowered. "If killing weren't illegal…"_

_ He just laughed and gave me a smile._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Yayyy. Another chapter, done. <em>**

**_I'd love to hear your thoughts on it; so if you would be so kind and take 5 seconds out of your day to write even a one word review, that would be wonderful. :)_**

**_Anyways, I'm very tired, so...off to bed I shall go._**

**_Amehhh_**


	14. Draco's Invitation

**Family reunion was a success. And, I even wrote another chapter while I was over there. **

**Back to my normal schedule, though. Blah.**

**So...have any of you read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad? I'm just curious. I've had this book for a month, we have to have summaries of each section done by the 22nd, and I'm on page...21. Pathetic, yes, I know.**

**Anyways. Story time! **

**(And it would tickle me pink if you'd read and review!)**

* * *

><p><em>Exams were over, and it felt so good. I took a deep breath of non-dark arts filled air. We had just finished Professor Lupin's test, and it had by far been the most difficult. We had to wade through water and get directions out of a marsh and defeat a boggart. (It's very difficult to use the riddikulus spell on your greatest fear, I must note). It took me nearly forever to turn that <em>

_ "Good job, class. I am very proud of _all_ of you. Now, why don't you celebrate? Class dismissed." Professor Lupin gave a smile and the class filed out. _

_ "Coming, Hughes?" Draco asked, nudging my shoulder with his, in a way I assumed only boys did._

_ "Nah, I'm going to have a word with him," I said._

_ He gave me a look of disgust. "You're going to stay in the same room with a werewolf? _Alone_? Good luck. If I don't see you in a half hour, I'll send out a search party. I expect you won't come back without a chunk of your arm missing."_

_ "Come off it, Draco. What's your damage? I'll see you in a bit." I walked away from him and toward Lupin. "Sir…are the rumours true?" I really, really hoped that they weren't. He was the best teacher I had ever had, out of all those at Hogwarts, and those at my elementary school before the Hogwarts era of my life._

_ "I'm afraid they are, Emma." He gave a sad, but still composed smile._

_ "So you're really retiring, then?" It made me rather distressed. He was my favorite teacher this year._

_ The professor looked slightly shocked, but quickly regained his posture and calm attitude. "That's right. I wish I could have stayed longer, but seeing as that's not the case…I'm sure you will get along pleasantly with whoever is after this position. You've been a great student this year, and I know that everything will fall into a place sometime or another for you."_

_ I beamed up at him. "That means a lot. And if it's any consolation, the next professor probably won't be as…interesting, shall I say. Our previous professors didn't have nearly as exciting classes. I mean, first Quirrell, who couldn't handle a troll, and then Lockhart who couldn't even handle pixies. You'll definitely be missed."_

_ "Thank you, Emma. I'll remember those words. But," he pointed at the door, "I think you have someone waiting for you. I won't mind."_

_ "Bye, Professor," I smiled. After waving when I got further away from him, I turned to Draco. He was alone, completely unaccompanied by a search party. "So, you waited?"_

_ "A thanks for waiting would have sufficed. I couldn't leave you alone with a werewolf. It would have been all my fault had you died. Contrary to what you might believe, but I would feel a little guilty. And, to answer your question, yes."_

_ "What're you up to? And don't say' nothing'." We started walking to the Great Hall. "Seriously. Don't. Besides, werewolves are completely harmless with the exception of the full moon once a month. Had you paid any attention in his classes, maybe you'd be able to recall." One day, I thought to myself, I'd start some sort of social movement, which would render everyone unable to think of minorities as anything else but equal to us. _

_ "I didn't want to walk with Crabbe and Goyle. It's impossible to have an intelligent conversation. Which is why I wanted to ask you something."_

_ "No, I will not do your final essay for Transfiguration for you, if that's what you're going to ask," I rolled my eyes. I was only halfway through my own-in fact, I should really get started on that tonight. "I thought by now you would have learned the subject and to not ask me to do your homework for you."_

_ "I wasn't going to ask you that," he spat whilst glaring. "Maybe I just won't ask you."_

_ I smiled widely. "Ask me what?" I walked in front of him._

_ "If sometime during the summer you'd want to accompany me to my manor."_

_ "Are you being serious? Because I've never known you to be this serious…"_

_ "Look, my mother wants me to have someone over, and there is no way I'm inviting Crabbe and Goyle. I have to deal with them every day while I'm here. And even though you're a," he looked me up and down with disgust, "Gryffindor, it's still better than those two idiots." For a moment there, I thought he was going to say "girl."_

_ "Why aren't you asking Pansy? She's in Slytherin."_

_ He snorted. "You're funny, Hughes. Hilarious, even."_

_ "But, seriously. Why me? Why _not_ Pansy?"_

_ "She's not exactly someone my mother would like. Especially not the way that she laughs. It's hideous, really. Very unbecoming. Are you going to accept or not?"_

_ "I'd have to talk with my parents, but as of now, I am," I smiled. _

_ "Just don't give it away that, you know, you're…" he pretended to grimace, "you."_

_ I laughed. "I'll do my best, Draco. I'll do my best." But...would his parents really not like me for me? Maybe Mr. Malfoy. When I had met him last year he seemed a little...condescending._

_ "Good, good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be joining some sane people." Immediately after, he swiftly walked to the Slytherin table._

_ Following his lead, I sat down next to Hermione and Neville at the Gryffindor table. The plates before us were still rather empty and depressing looking. Ron was looking very disgruntled at his plate, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Dumbledore and many of the professors were not yet at their places. After grumbling, it was made clear to me (not to mention Hermione and Neville, also) that I was hungry. It wasn't long until the other professors made their way into their seats. Dumbledore stepped to the podium, the golden owl spread its wings and he began to speak as the noise among the students settled down. _

I couldn't remember what he said during the speech. The words coming out of his mouth were rather fuzzy. I sat there, casting glances at Neville and Hermione, who were both looking intensely at the Headmaster. Hermione would, of course, probably be able to recite most of his speech years to come. For a moment, I wondered if whether she had a photographic memory, or if she had just spent a lot of time memorizing her books. Ginny was a couple seats down, wistfully looking at Harry. I smiled, knowing what would become of those two in my sixth year, and sat down next to her.

Serious thinking. That's what I should do. Sit down and logically strategize…something. A plan, perhaps. Something to follow. I couldn't remember what happened to _me_ in sixth year, but I could with Harry and Ginny—it was odd, very odd. Pain. There was a lot of it. Physically, emotionally…there was pain. Everywhere. Somehow, I would figure this out. I would get back to what was the real world, and live a normal, not unconsciousness-induced life. I will get out of here. I just need to figure out how…

* * *

><p><em>"Draco!" I called out on King's Cross platform as Neville, Ginny and I stepped off the train. He turned around, Crabbe and Goyle walked on. I ran up to him and hugged him. To my surprise, he hugged back a little. "You write to me first, okay?" All of my friends had written to me first, so, I still hadn't exactly figured out how Darwin, my owl, could find out where others lived.<em>

_ "I will, but you have to get me something in return, though." He looked smug._

_ "I'll send more paper for you to write me with my letters," I laughed. "I'm glad we became friends."_

_ His look remained on his face. "I'm not sure if I can say the same about you, Hughes." Upon looking at my somewhat pouting face, he added, "Just kidding," with an easily identifiable fake smile. "Expect a letter this week. My parents are over there." He pointed opposite to where my parents said that they'd be._

_ "Mine are over there." I pointed to the front end of the train. "I'll see you some other time. Hopefully this summer. Bye, Draco."_

_ "Goodbye, Emma." _

_ I was about to question the formalities until I noticed his parents walking up behind him. I smiled, gave a wave and started to walk towards my family. My mom came running up to me with my father smiling a little further behind. "So, Emma…who's that boy?"_

* * *

><p><strong>End of third year. Yayyy.<strong>

**So. Who was your favorite Marauder? I'm rather curious. Mine was Lupin. He just seems so chill, y'know?**

**Well, I guess we wouldn't know.**

**Since we weren't even alive (well, at least I wasn't) back then, and very, very unmagical.**

**(But if any of you *are* magical...feel free to let me know).**

**Enjoy the rest of your day and don't stay up too late! ;)**

**-Amehhh**


	15. Letters To and From

**Oh hay guise.**

**Guess who barely did ANY summer homework until just the past two weeks?**

**That's right, this kid.**

**But, here's the latest chapter, which is more or less of a filler, but who CARES. (I'm not even sure myself whether that is supposed to be an angry statement or an angry question).**

**Oh well. Here's the chapter.**

* * *

><p>I sat down on my bed, which I had just now realized that I had missed so much over the course of the past year, both in my world, and my younger's. I laid down in it, relaxing in this memory (which wasn't nearly as exciting as the others). My soon to be slumber was interrupted as a pecking was heard from my window.<p>

_I opened the window to find an unfamiliar owl holding a letter. Taking it from him, and giving him a treat so that he wouldn't nip my fingers, I ripped it open with some difficulty. I began to read it, ignoring my mother's calls that lunch was ready. "I'll be right down!"_

_ Emma,_

_ You told me to write to you first, so I'm being chivalrous and doing what you asked from me, although, don't expect much of that in the future. My mother, she heard you asking me to write first, hence, this letter. I'm not too sure what you even expect me to write, nor what I expect myself to write. I suppose a telling of what I've done throughout the first week of summer is in order, yes?_

_ There isn't much to say. My mother constantly has her friends over for tea, and my father constantly works at the ministry and has meetings every few days—the ministry has been in a bit of a rut as of recently. As for my summer, to be quite honest, there is not reallymcuh to do. We have a library, although none of the books are an interesting read. We have the outdoors, but being outside after a while gets to be boring. We have many more things, all of which just get more and more boring. Occasionally, Crabbe and Goyle are here, and we talk. However, not many of the conversations are intelligent, as they are too daft to carry one for longer than a couple minutes._

_ I must go now, due to the recent fact that my family and I are invited to a dinner at the Carrow's manor. _

_ Sincerely,_

_ Draco_

_ Dearest Draco,_

_ Your summer sounds boring. Unbelievably boring. I've gone to an amusement park already, not to mention an aquarium and a zoo. My parents say that if I'm to go to your house this summer, they want to get enough of me before I leave._

_ Which reminds me, what was with all the formalities? You know me, and I know you. Quite…well, I guess. There's no need to speak to me like that. Really. It's unnecessary._

_ So, are your parents okay with me going over to your place? I'd rather be prepared for a 'no' than have one thrown unexpectedly at me the day before. I'm sure your place is lovely. We only have the basics here, and we definitely do not have a library. Our outside, however, is limited to a backyard—and a tiny one at that. It's more of a garden than a yard. But, technicalities, I suppose. I'm pretty excited. Say, are your parents going to arrive when you pick us up? My parents want to meet yours before I go away for a while. I mean, if that's alright with them._

_ If it's not, I suppose that'll be okay, too. _

_ So, just let me know what's going on for my parents and I. Thanks!_

_ Love,_

_ Emma_

_ Emma,_

_ The formalities were simply because my mother was in the room, and happens to be in the room again. She's rather excited to meet you, actually. All she knows about you is by how I'm writing to you and such—she likes to look over my shoulder as I'm writing, is all. Don't get me wrong, I've told her some information about you (which I'm assuming she has passed on to my father), since you'll be staying with us for part of the summer. As to when you're staying, my parents have hinted at August through King's Cross. Let me know as soon as you can if this is alright with you and your parents, and we will start making arrangements. _

_ I'm fairly positive you'll be bored here—I'm guessing you've already done your summer homework. So, I've been wondering. Who do you think the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be? First we had Professor Quirrel with that awful stutter, then that terrible Lockhart who didn't know what he was teaching, and finally that dreadful werewolf. I'm curious as to why Dumbledore is still around as headmaster. Had I been in charge of the ministry, he would have been sacked within days of my arrival. Hogwarts has really gone to the dogs, you know._

_ Just a couple more years until we're through with that place._

_ Sincerely, _

_ Draco_

_ Dearest Draco, _

_ First off, my parents are (thankfully) completely okay with my staying with you throughout the month of August. Just give us the date and time of when you and your family will be picking me up and I will be sure to be prepared by then._

_ I'm pretty sure that I won't be bored there, though. After all, it isn't _my_ house. Everyone else's houses are just so much more interesting. Besides, with one person in your house, which I'm assuming is absolutely huge, I can imagine it getting extremely boring. But two people are always better than one. Well, in most cases. In Crabbe and Goyle's? Well, that's a little self explanatory, isn't it? And don't you start going off about how mean I am when you practically say that on a daily basis. I honestly cannot wait. I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to go over to your house._

_ Is there anything I need to bring? And will we be visiting Diagon Alley prior to school? My parents need to know whether or not we need to get my things now or later._

_ My mother's very interested in you also. She saw us hug before we left to go home, and she couldn't stop asking questions about you. She rather likes to call you my…boyfriend. Excuse me while I gag. Oh, just kidding. I wouldn't want to deflate your ego that much, now would I? No, I suppose not. _

_ Anyways, we're off to my cousin's dance recital, so I'll talk to you later!_

_ Love,_

_ Emma_

_ P.S. I have absolutely no clue, but I'm assuming that he won't be as competent as Professor Lupin._

_ Emma, _

_ We will be arriving in precisely two weeks at nine in the morning. Be sure to keep your fireplace open. My father has checked with those who work with the Floo Network, and it seems as though your house isn't a part of it. Of course, he's pulling a couple favors and we are getting your fireplace prepared for us to floo to and from. My father and mother will be coming with me, so our parents will have a chance to meet. We will also be going to Diagon Alley prior to school starting, so that's when we will get our school supplies. _

_ Believe it or not, I don't think you have any idea how boring my place is. But, if you say so, I'm sure something will come up and make it more interesting._

_ There's nothing that you specifically need to bring aside from the basics. _

_ I'm sure our mothers, being mothers will have a lot to say to each other. My father and your father on the otherhand, I'm not too sure. My father is quick to perceive other people for what they are._

_ We are going to be extremely busy within the next week or so, so if I do not reply, that is why. The date mentioned above still holds true, even if I don't get a chance to respond. _

_ Anyways, I'm about to fall asleep._

_ I may or may not have a chance to talk to you until then._

_ Draco_

_ P.S. "Professor" Lupin was not competent, werewolf or not._

The last two weeks spent with my family flew by faster than I had imagined.

* * *

><p><strong>Once school starts, I'm actually pretty sure updates will be coming along MUCH, much faster. Doing nothing is my escape from doing something in the summer, but doing Harry Potter stuff helps me escape from school.<strong>

**Therefore, updates will be quicker.**

**...Or something logical like that.**

**Anyways, enjoy the last...week of the summer. :(**

**Cause on the first I'm going back.**

**Byeeee guys.**

**-Amehhh.**


	16. Draco's Visit to a Muggle Household

**Oh hey there, guys. I'm not dead. Yayyy.**

**I may as well be though, I had to work 10 days in a row, on weekends and after school. :) Along with marching band practice and a zero period. **

**But I'm alive, and that's what matters. I'll try to keep up to date a LOT better than I have been. **

**loljk, I have 3 AP classes.**

**But really xD I'll try super hard.**

* * *

><p>I watched myself becoming more and more excited by the minute. My step had a higher bounce, my smile grew bigger, and I kept on looking over every room through every single detail, making sure it was just right for the first boy to see my house, not to mention his father—when I had met him for those few minutes, he seemed rather prissy.<p>

_At first, I was unbearably tired, unused to waking up early in the morning during the summer. But, when my parents reminded me that Draco was to pick me up along with his parents, I had shot straight up, put on my best face and drank a can of soda. So now here I was with my father's level, making sure our pictures were straight. On our fireplace, I kept dusting my smaller pictures from school, one with a picture of Draco and I (Draco not looking all too happy about the picture Colin had taken), Hermione and I, Susan and I, a group of us—even a picture of the me and the picture taker himself—Colin really did have a knack for taking photographs._

_ But, moving on from the photos that I apparently ended up staring at, I looked between the cracks between the stones from in front of the fireplace. Glancing up at the clock, I took notice that it was almost nine. I opened the fireplace, as per their request, yet still not knowing why exactly the fireplace needed to be open. Perhaps in their eyes, it made a place look homier, more…accepting. My clothes were still the ones I had previously slept in, and I made a quick run to my room to change and back. _

_ Just as I was coming down the stairs all the while fixing my hair that yet again seemed to grow in size with its frizz, my parents were standing in front of the fireplace with a tall, daunting man, his shorter wife, and a boy my age with the same blonde hair. My parents and his seemed to be having some sort of civil conversation, but I broke that up by shouting "Draco!" and running towards him to give him a hug. _

_ Tentatively, he hugged back. Respectively, he said, "Emma."_

_ "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy." I managed to say in a calmer, more mature tone. "I'm sure you've already met my parents. Hopefully I haven't kept you waiting or anything."_

_ "Not at all, Emma. Hello to you too." He gave me a curt nod which told me that he was going to resume talking with my parents. _

_ "So uh, Floo Network, huh? C'mon, let's chat. It looks like they're going to be here for a while. Wanna come up to my room? I need to get my things anyways." I felt as if I were rambling. Having magical people inside my home were a first for me—well. Other magical people inside my home were a first for me. _

_ "Floo Network, that's correct. My father said that he had to pull a favor to get it up and running at your house for a small timespan. I'm assuming you aren't a part of the Floo Network?"_

_ "Oh, no, we aren't." In fact, until he had "flooed" here, I wasn't sure what it even was. "We very much so like Muggle things. I mean, if you couldn't tell," I gave him a smile. My room on the otherhand was a large mixture between Muggle and magical. He looked in my room as if he had never seen half of the things—which he probably hadn't. _

_ "Could you tell me what…this is exactly?" He pointed towards a miniature television._

_ "Oh! I forgot about that!" I thought twice before shoving it under my bed. I picked up and showed him the screen. "I brought this to school with the intention of using the repairing spell, since we can't exactly use magic outside of school. It stopped working a couple years back, so I kindof…picked it up."_

_ He looked as if he were about to question why I couldn't have just asked my parents to do the spell for me—I forgot he didn't know that I was Muggle-born. Then again, he never asked. Nobody generally did at Hogwarts, which at times I felt was odd._

_ " My parents don't exactly know that I'm using it. It's a television. Do you know what that is?"_

_ He shook his head, "No, I don't."_

_ "It projects images. Y'know our photographs? The ones that move, that is? It's like those, only the things you see on here are longer, with color, and have sound. There's a cooking channel, cartoons, drama…I'd bring it to school, but I really don't need the distraction. I doubt that we'd even get signal over there, anyways."_

_ "You seem to be a bit…nervous."_

_ "I've just…never had a boy over. Nor his parents, either. It's just very different. I feel the need to live up to standards, I guess."_

_ "Just be yourself. My mother already likes you, I'm sure."_

_ "And your father?"_

_ "He takes a bit longer," he looked at me with a hard face on. "We should probably go back down, I don't want to give _your_ parents the wrong idea."_

_ The conversation seemed to have lulled since we started walking back down. I smiled a little bit as he carried my luggage down like a gentleman. "Thanks, Draco." I told him before we got completely to his family. _

_ "Are you ready to go, Emma?" Mrs. Malfoy spoke. This was the first time I had heard her voice. _

_ "Yes, I am," I smiled. "Bye mom, bye dad." I gave them both a hug and they kissed me on the head (which I became rather embarrassed about). "I'll write you in a week or so, and when I get to Hogwarts."_

_ "Alright, dear." My mother smiled and pulled me into a hug again. "Be good."_

_ "I plan on it," I tried reassuring her._

_ It was my father's turn now. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Emma," he looked down at me, "If that Malfoy boy tries anything on you, I give you my full permission to punch him in that pretty little face of his."_

_ I laughed as Draco rubbed his jaw, muttering something about that "stupid Granger."_

_ "Have you ever apparated before?" Mr. Malfoy asked me._

_ "No, I haven't." I wasn't too sure if I was to add a 'sir' on the end of that sentence, but since Draco didn't give me some sort of look that I was supposed to, I ended up not doing so._

_ "Just brace yourself. We'll apparate outside our manor. Many vomit on their first time. Draco?" He looked at his son and held his arm out. "There's nothing to be afraid of," he said before disappearing with a crack. _

_ I must have shrieked, because Draco's mother had a small smile playing on her face. She held her arm out to me._

I grabbed a hold of her shoulder. I wasn't too sure how exactly I was to get to Malfoy Manor otherwise.

_Looking up at her, I swallowed and tentatively put my hand on her arm, gripping it harder than I had originally planned. I closed my eyes, and immediately we were pulled into what felt like a vacuum. Only a couple moments later, we were standing outside an incredible manor._

_ Promptly, I vomited._

Promptly, I vomited.

* * *

><p><strong>Whoo. There you have it. Another fairly sucky filler. But we're almost near the part that I've been wanting to write for EVER. Seriously. I've been waiting.<strong>

**Umm. So I'm not really sure where I'm going with this author's note. **

**So...**

**Bye. **

**I hope you enjoyed it, and I'd love you forever if you reviewed~**

**-Amehhh.**


	17. Malfoy Manor

**Now, I'mma let you finish the story, but I gotta say-**

**School has been rough, guise. 7 periods. 1 zero period. 3 AP classes. Job. Musical lessons. Musical recitals. Football games. Marching practices. **

**(lolwhatissleep?)**

**BUT I am caught up on work, so I decided to FINALLY update a good almost 2 months later.**

**I told you I'd finish it! Even though it's nowhere near done...but, hey, it's getting there, haha.**

**Read and review, bitte!**

* * *

><p>Whilst wiping my mouth and spitting to try to (unsuccessfully) rid it of the horrid taste of vomit. I followed the Malfoys and myself into their manor, which was still rather foreign to me, despite me spending a month there.<p>

_"Pipsy," said Draco's mom. With a crack, a house elf appeared a few feet from her, head bowed. "Get Emma a glass of water, and then bring her trunks to the room next to Draco's." The house elf nodded, cracked away and back, proceeded to hand me a glass of water before struggling to pick up my trunk and popped away yet again._

_ Another elf appeared in front of us with a loud crack as Mr. Malfoy said its name. "Set the table," was all he said and the elf disappeared. Slowly, we walked our way through the magnificently huge rooms into the dining room, which had a (much longer than it should have been) table, and some chairs, respectively. It was home-y in its own right, but still seemed rather cold. The table had been set and silver platters were set on the table. "Please, do sit." _

_ I was about to sit down two seats down from the head of the table, where Draco's dad was going to sit, but was stopped by Draco, who pulled the chair out for me with a curt smile. He gave me a look telling me that it was simply how things were done around here._

I sat down next to Narcissa and across from myself, waiting for the true interrogation—or, conversation—to begin.

_"So, Emma," Mr. Malfoy began as he uncovered a platter and started serving himself, "how do you like Hogwarts? It truly is a home away from home, isn't it?"_

_ "It really, really is," I responded. "Sometimes I don't even want to leave—but then again, sometimes I do miss my parents a bit. Is it any different since you or Mrs. Malfoy were there?"_

_ "Yes," he seemed slightly amused, "it is quite different, although not in a way you might imagine. I'm sure when you're older, you'll understand what I'm talking about."_

_ "Oh, I bet," I smiled. Smiling was always good, wasn't it? Gave off a good impression and such?_

_ "And you are in Gryffindor, is that also correct?" I noticed that his eyes shifted slightly to Draco and back to me._

_ "That's right, sir. It's a lovely house, I enjoy it quite a bit."_

_ "I'm glad to hear it."_

_ I was desperately waiting for Draco or Mrs. Malfoy to jump into the conversation. This was getting so awkward. Oh god oh god oh god this is so awkward. I swallowed and tried to keep my cool. Once we were done eating I could talk to Mrs. Malfoy and Draco as freely as I wished. Hopefully all of our meals aren't going to be exactly like this. Why weren't they jumping in?_

_ He began again, "What are your favorite classes there, hm?"_

_ "Charms class is really fun. And so is Defense the Dark Arts. Although I wish the teachers would stop changing, it's getting fairly annoying that we can't just keep one. Although, last year was a fairly interesting one."_

_ "That's right. Draco told me all about your werewolf professor." He looked slightly disgusted as he sat down his fork. "Personally, I'm glad he quit—a werewolf is…such a danger to the students. I'm surprised the ministry didn't have anything to say about it for the entire year. It could have gotten out of hand had he changed in the presence of the student body."_

_ "I um," I paused momentarily, trying to decide whether to ground my own opinion. "I liked him as a teacher. He was much better than Quirrell—probably because he had You Know Who on the back of his head—oh! Quirrell, I mean, not Professor Lupin. Gilderoy Lockhart on the otherhand couldn't describe to you any kind of answer to the question you'd ask him. Unless, of course, it was about his smile. Five time winner in Witch's Weekly, you know. In fact, I wonder who's going to be our professor this year. Do you have any idea, Draco?"_

_ "No, none at all, really." Thank goodness that he finally spoke. Hopefully now I could take him as my conversational prisoner. "I heard a rumour though, that they might get someone from the ministry. But considering it was from a Hufflepuff, I highly doubt it."_

_ I shrugged. "Rumours will be rumours."_

_ "I happened to noticed that your parents are, ah…" Mr. Malfoy paused for a moment, "very intrigued by the muggles."_

Lucius glanced at Draco, who merely shrugged.

_ "Yes, they really are, but that's just because—"_

_ "You seem really interested by muggles too," noted Draco._

_ "I don't think magical people give them enough credit. Everything that they do _is_ without magic. Their way of…well, just about everything is just so different than our way. I personally find it fascinating," I ended with a small voice and Lucius looked at me pointedly. Muggles really were, in their own way, quite amazing. Three years of practicing magic had really opened up my mind to just how…odd everything they did was. I felt almost more at home in the magical world than the muggle world. It was a strange feeling—my world had been different from my parents' ever since I stepped foot in Diagon Alley. Actually, it had been different ever since Professor McGonagall stepped foot in my house._

_"You both look like you're about done," Mr. Malfoy said, looking at both of our plates which were mostly empty. _

I had been inside my own subconscious for…how long now? I had no clue. Approximately three years in this time, but I had no idea what time it was…out there. I felt as though I should be extremely hungry, but, I really wasn't. Tired, at least. But I wasn't tired, either. Hopefully somebody out there was feeding me. Maybe Madame Pomfrey—even Neville would. He probably read up about a plant that keeps a person feeling full for a week. (Come to think of it, whenever I come up with those kinds of ideas about plants and what some _must_ be able to do, he laughed and told me that that was one of the most ridiculous things he had heard of—in a loving, best friend kind of voice, that is).

_"Draco, Emma, you both are excused. I think it would be a good idea for you to give her a tour of the manor."_

_ "Yes, father." Draco stood up and offered me his hand. I looked up at him, not sure what to think, but grabbed it when I realized that he was probably just helping me up in a most polite way. _

_ "Um…thanks for breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. I'll see you guys in a bit, I suppose."_

_ "Have fun, dear," Mrs. Malfoy smiled up at me and resumed eating her dinner and chatting with her husband. Out of his parents, I would have to say that Mrs. Malfoy was my favorite._

_ When we walked out of the room, I looked at Draco. "So, uh, house elves, huh?" The ones that we just passed had bowed their heads when we walked past them. _

_ "We have plenty of them—it's rather nice to have someone pick up after you all the time. Do your laundry, make your meals…but of course, that awful Potter freed one of ours. That elf always was an odd one."_

_ "Isn't that good? Freeing them? It's practically enslavement," I insisted._

_ "No, it's not," he looked at me, "they _want_ to serve. Except for the one that Potter freed. Wanted to be paid for his efforts—he's the only one…complete nutcase." He noticed my completely unconvinced expression. "Really. I'm not just making this stuff up to make you feel better. If you gave any other house elf a sock, they'd be in tears, begging to be rehired. I could get one to apparate here if you'd like: but I don't think you would want to see them start crying when I had them a sock or other piece of clothing."_

_ "Fine, fine, then don't." I looked around, gazing at the hundreds of shelves full of books, chairs and lamps and tables. "So, I take it that this is the library?" He nodded. "I could spend all month in here."_

_ "You haven't seen anything yet. We'll visit the lake in a bit."_

_ "You have a lake?"_

_ "Sure we do, it's technically our backyard. Most pure-blooded manors were built around them. Don't you remember that from your notes?"_

_ "Shove off, Draco. What's the next room?"_

_ We began walking out of the gigantic library and into a hallway. "There aren't too many rooms to show, I guess –"_

_ "This place is _huge_. You must have a lot more rooms to show."_

_ "This place is rather large, but so are the rooms. Plus, a lot of them are my parent's, so I'm only going to show you the ones I generally go into." I followed him up a large flight of stairs after passing a stairway going downward. He said it was where the 'dungeons' were. Of all things I would have thought the Malfoys had in their manor, that was not one of them. "All the way down there," he pointed down the hall, "that's my parent's room. Here," he opened the door, "is my room. You can come in, if you want."_

_ "_This_ is your _room_? Are you serious? You must be joking. It's as big as my living room!"_

_ He looked a bit smug. "Maybe…a bit bigger." I playfully shoved him. The walls were a dark green, with a large, king-size bed (at least, by muggle's standards). It had many more basic room items, but stood fairly empty. "Let's go to your room. If you get lost or need me or anything else, you can knock on my door, I'll probably be there. Of course, considering you're my guest, I'll have to spend time with you, won't I?" He pretended to look a bit disgusted. He opened the door for me to my room. It was just as large and grand as the others were. _

_ "_This_ is your guest room? You can't be serious." However, he was more than serious. My trunk was sitting on the ground at the foot of the bed, and the room in general was just as magnificent as his. I ran and jumped onto my bed for the next month. "Oh God, this is wonderful. Have you ever been in this bed? It's just…I don't ever want to get out of it." It was nothing short of sleeping on a cloud._

_ "You're going to have to if you want to see the lake. But, if you don't want to…I'll just be in the library, working on my summer homework." He started to walk out of the room. _

_ "And you're absolutely daft if you think that I don't want to see the lake," I smiled up at him. "Lead the way."_

As we left the room and travelled through the hallway, I lagged behind, still wondering why Draco was the thing my subconscious focusing on. It really is rather silly of me, focusing on a boy.

* * *

><p><strong>BAM. Look at all those words.<strong>

**OhandIforgottomention: College. Dear god. Did any of you know how much work it is to get into them? A LOT.**

**And if any of you know about any Oregon colleges with teaching programs and English majors (such as OSU and WOU), please feel free to let me know. :)**

**Annnnd on another note, I have a Tumblr now. So, if any of you want to look at that...just lemme know. Haha.**

**I hope you ALL have a great day!**

**-Amehhh**


	18. The Lake

**Once upon a time, I actually updated once a week.**

**Cool story, bro.**

**No, really. **

**It's a bit sad and pathetic to have school kick my ass like this.**

**But mostly pathetic.**

**Anywayyyyys, new chapter up for you all! **

**Read and review, if you will!**

* * *

><p>My first thought was to give me and him some privacy. My next thought was, <em>this <em>is_ my memory, Emma. You're allowed to watch it. _And so, I did. They began to talk as they walked down the stairs and exited through the back doors of the manor. Not even a hundred feet away did the lake begin. With the exception of the few feet surrounding the lake, trees swarmed everywhere beyond it. I decided to fall back instead of walking right next to them this time, and took in the scenery as they chatted.

_"We want to go this way," Draco said as he grabbed my hand and pulled us to the right side of the lake._

_ "Ow!" I pulled away. "You shocked me." I put my hand back and laced my fingers through his. "The lake is beautiful. I don't think you have any idea how jealous I am of you right now. This entire _place_ is just gorgeous."_

_ He looked surprised. "You really think so? It just looks…the same to me."_

_ "Of course it would to you; you've been here all your life, and today is just my first day." I breathed in the fresh air. "This is nothing like my place. No electricity, no electronics," he looked at me as if I was daffy, "just simplicity. I love it. Oh, come off it, Draco. I suppose you never paid attention in muggle studies, huh?"_

_ "It's a fairly useless class," he shrugged. "I have no use being around muggles. There's a reason why we're magical and they're not."_

_ "Speaking of that…your dad doesn't seem to like me very much." Maybe I was just overreacting. It was the first time we met formally, and maybe he just had had a bad morning and maybe he was just difficult to read. Even so, maybe he just took a while to warm up to somebody who was going to be staying with him in his own house for about a month. (And he had no say over it, really, either. Although I suppose he could, seeming as he _is _Draco's father and I am only just a guest)._

_ "He doesn't seem to like a lot of people. If he likes you, you'll know it by the end of the month, I guess. If he doesn't, he'll be polite about it. Honestly, he would have rather I invited Crabbe or Goyle. But like I said, they aren't exactly…interesting. It wouldn't really surprise me if they shared a brain."_

_ "I guess it wouldn't exactly surprise me either."_

_ "I think I'm rubbing off on you a bit too much, Emma."_

He said my name so nicely.

_"What happened to your nice demeanor? It's becoming rather sour now, isn't it?"_

_ "Oh, come off it, Draco. Even if I had lied, you would have known I was thinking it. Even your parents must think it. It can't be that offputting that I can be bitter. Everyone is. Somebody that says that they're always nice is lying. Even you're smart enough to know that."_

_ "And what's that supposed to mean?"_

_ "Whatever you want it to," I smiled. "I really enjoy it here. I know I've already gushed about it. But I feel like I can really be myself, you know?"_

_ He gave me a hard look. "No."_

_ "No?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Are you going to give me any explanation, or are you just going to be all cold and stoic over there?"_

_ "I prefer the latter."_

_ "Be that way, then." I rolled my eyes and took in my surrounding yet again. A lot of feet had passed while we were walking and talking. The trees were getting taller and taller, and the lake, clearer and clearer. "_Well,_" I began, "I feel like I can be myself here because you're the only person I know here. At school I have to be nice to everyone who happens to come by me on a bad day, I have to follow the rules both at home and at school, and I always feel as though I have to be doing _something_, y'know?"_

_ He shook his head._

_ "But here I feel as if I can just let it go. Like I can relax or something. I'm not sure if I can explain it. Only you really know me here. I can be completely honest with you, and you probably wouldn't care. Other people would care. I'm expected to be nice, I'm expected to follow the rules, and here nobody knows me; nobody knows what I'm like. I can reinvent myself here. It's the best feeling in the world."_

_ "You don't have to be nice, you know," he looked pointedly at me, "And you don't have to follow the rules, either. They're more like…guidelines. You can be yourself there, also. You're not surrounded by your parents or people you knew before school."_

_ "I don't _have_ to be, you're completely right. But I want people to like me."_

_ "Hughes—"_

Here we go again.

_"That was the _stupidest_ thing I've _ever_ heard you say. And I've heard you say plenty of stupid things."_

_ "Gee, thanks," I mumbled, not too happy._

_ "No, I'm serious. You aren't being yourself because you_ want people to like you_? All of the Gryffindors hate me. Do you want to know why? Because I'm not sugarcoating myself. There's a reason why the Slytherins like me, and the rest of the school doesn't."_

_ "I like you."_

_ "You hardly count as a Gryffindor."_

_ I was taken aback. "Are you trying to say I'm not _brave_?" And I thought that this was supposed to be a peaceful, relaxing walk around the lake._

_ "I'm not trying to say that you're not brave. You're just not…stupid about what you seem to care about, unlike the rest of that sort of lot. But, anyways, can we please move on?"_

_ I sighed, exasperated._

_ "Thank you. People aren't going to like you for the right reasons if you don't start being yourself." He paused. "Who _are_ you, anyways?" _

_ I gave him a small smile, "You have an entire month to figure it out."_

_ He grunted. "Just great."_

_ "Oh, come off it," I nudged him. "I just feel like I'm sometimes on the outside looking in. I don't know why. It just…feels that way." _

_ Draco looked around a little bit, almost as if to make sure nobody was following us. "I feel that way here. My parents love me very much, and I do realize that I _am_ spoiled…but on the otherhand if you don't ask, you don't get…but something feels a little off here. I mean, I love it here, and it's great," he added the last sentence quickly thanks to my look of skepticism. "It just seems like I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen here. I can't explain it."_

_ "So don't." I pursed my lips for a moment. "What time is it?" The sun blinded my eyes when I looked up at it. "I can't tell."_

_ He peered up for a few seconds. "I can't tell. We've been walking for a while, though. Care to sit?"_

_ "Oh, please." Letting go of his hand, I sat down quickly by the edge of the lake. He, naturally, followed suit. _

I decided to walk on. They'd catch up eventually. As much as I wanted to view it again—it was one of my favorites between us—I decided that once was enough for a lifetime.

_Smiling, amused, he asked, "You can't possibly be tired yet, can you?"_

_ "Quiet, Draco. I'm trying to sleep here, are you daft?"_

_ "That dirt sure looks comfortable."_

_ "It is. Don't even worry about it."_

_ "I'm not."_

_ "Good." I mumbled._

_ "Fine." _

_ I wasn't sure how long I ended up dozing off for, but when I woke up, I found myself lying on Draco's torso. "And _how_ long were you going to let me just lie here?" I tried to sound disgusted, but found myself blushing. Curious. _

_ He simply shrugged._

_ "Oh, helpful."_

_ I was still laying on him. Oh, God. Merlin. Whoever. I can't handle this. "Well, uh, anyways. Howabout the rest of our walk, hmm?"_

_ "Sounds like a plan." Once we had gotten up, he turned to me. "And…_how_ long were you planning on laying on me? Hmm? Are you a bit…nervous?"_

_ "Me? Nervous? Please," I scoffed._

_ "Or is it that one of us has a little crush? It's adorable, Emma, really. It's quite flattering." _

_ "If I _had_ a crush—which I _don't_, it certainly wouldn't be wasted on a person of your manner." I started to walk off in an angry huff without him._

_ "Oh, right, right, that explains why you accepted the invitation, which clearly includes spending a lot of alone time with me—and meeting my family. It's not something that just any girl would go for."_

_ "I'm not just any girl, now am I? Last time I checked, I happened to be your friend, and if you're starting to consider me as someone of lesser value, I'd rethink those calculations of yours."_

_ Draco whistled. "Well, it looks like _somebody_ has gotten their roar back." _

_ "So, why don't you tell me, Draco? Why did you invite me over again? Was it because you just didn't want to spend your summer with those two sack of lumps or was it because I'm becoming to be a bit more than a friend in your mind? Like I said, Pansy's a girl, too. So is Millicent. And Daphne. Yet you invited a Gryffindor, among all people. Curious, Draco. Curious." What am I doing? Is this flirting? Am I flirting? What is this…flirt? _

_ Neither of us said anything until we got back to the manor. By then, we were holding hands again, and a small smile was on my face._

A small smile was on his, too.

* * *

><p><strong>Dialogue, how I love thee.<strong>

**Soooo, Thanksgiving. How was it? What're you thankful for? Tell me about all of your good times and laughs.**

**(And maybe even review).**

**Have a lovely general time of day! **

**No, really.**

**-Amehhh**


	19. The News and the Nap

**Oh man. Hey guise.**

**I can't believe it's been one and a half months. That's just. Horrible. I'm so sorry xD**

**School has been, uh, rough. Let's go with that. Yeah.**

**If it makes you feel any better, I'm beginning to get cabin fever now that I'm done with my homework and haven't had school since Friday. Or left home. Since Friday. Because of snow. **

**So, if any of you remember, that's where it all began with my NCIS fanfiction. Good times. **

**Anyways. Just. Read. And review and stuff. **

* * *

><p>Surprisingly enough, I hadn't fallen asleep, and my stomach wasn't growling with severe hunger. I could only assume that they were feeding my unconscious self quite well, or Madam Pomfrey had given me some sort of potion. Food was all I could think about for the past hour. I wasn't hungry, starving, or even bored. I just…really missed holding food in my hands. Food is the greatest thing ever invented, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Watching them all eat dinner together just made me long for the food I had had two years ago. It just...looked really, really good. It took me everything I had to not pounce awkwardly onto the table and try to eat things that I couldn't due to my current situation.<p>

_The silence was nearly awkward as utensils hit the plates in our efforts for food. Of course, it's only awkward if you make it awkward. Lucius cleared his throat in a broad manner and began to speak. "I have a brief announcement to make, and I believe you all will find it rather enjoyable." He looked around to make sure that everyone held his full attention. "Cornelius Fudge, as we all know who as the Minister of Magic, has recognized our donation to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries and has invited us as his personal guests to watch the Quidditch World Cup. We have four tickets, and will meet up with him the day of the game, in two weeks' time."_

_ Draco, I'm pretty sure, nearly fell out of his seat with excitement. "That's wonderful! I can't wait!" _

_ Narcissa and I simply sat there smiling, glad that we were able to go to something so incredibly huge and fantastic. Unlike the boys, we didn't share the same fondness we did toward sports. I looked at Draco and told him, "Looks like we'll be spending the next two weeks teaching me the official rules."_

_ His facial expression turned a tad sour as he looked at me with slight contempt. "You're cute when you're not an insufferable know-it-all." _

_ "Gee, thanks," I gave him a glare before returning to my steak. _

_ "You're welcome, but who _cares_, we're going to the World Cup!" He regained his grin quicker than he had lost it._

_ "Now, Draco, you don't want to go around boasting about it to everybody. It's impolite," His father droned. "And you certainly mustn't go around telling people that the Minister _himself_ invited us."_

It was clear that Lucius was quite smug about it, now that I was watching his face and not the steak on his plate. In fact, regardless of what he was telling Draco _not_ to do, it wouldn't have surprised me had he gone to the ministry the next day specifically to rub it into Arthur Weasley's face.

_Lucius looked at the enormous clock perched on the wall. "Well," he began, "It's almost time for my meeting at the ministry. I'll see you all in a couple hours' time." He stood up and tucked his napkin neatly next to his plate, snapped his fingers for a house elf to clean up after him, and floo'ed to the ministry. _

_ Looking over at the house elf, Narcissa rose, and said, "I am done as well." She turned to us with a smile you could hardly see, "Don't get into too much trouble, or at least, don't let me catch you." With that, she left the dining room. _

_ "Is the masters done with their meal?" The house elf (whose name I still hadn't learned) returned in less than 5 seconds, with empty hands to take our dishes with._

_ "I'm done, thanks," I said, handing my plate to him._

_ "Myself, too," Draco rose and left his plates on the table. "What are we going to do now?"_

_ "I don't know, what do you want to do?" Rolling my eyes, I looked towards him, awaiting an answer to brighten up our boring afternoon._

_ "I'm giving you the option here, you may as well take the opportunity." That certainly wasn't an answer I was expecting. In fact, I expected him to whisk me away to the library to explain everything about Quidditch, or grab his broom so he could practice his Quidditch, or talk about how excited he was to be going to the Quidditch World Cup._

_ "Well, I'm a little bit tired," I yawned, "so I might just head in for an afternoon nap." I began to walk to the hallway and upstairs with Draco following closely behind._

_ "I give you the option for anything, and you're taking a _nap_?" He seemed a bit perplexed by this simple idea. Had the boy never taken a nap before? _

_ "Feel free to join me, if you want—I don't really care—what else are we supposed to do? Walk around the lake for the fifth time? Have you give me a tour of the manor again? Do our _homework_?" I gave him a hard look. "If you want to do those, feel free to speak up, otherwise, I'm going to rest on a pleasantly full stomach."_

_ "How utterly boring," he said, following me down the hallway. "Of all things you could do—there _is _more to do around here than just those things, I hope you realize. Wait—wait, where are you going, that's my room, you can't have forgotten where your room is."_

_ "I know where it is," I pointed to the door next to his, "It's just that your bed is bigger and has more pillows. It really is quite the perfect bed for an afternoon nap."_

_ "You can't just—_sleep_ in there! That's _my_ room." Aggravation filled his voice._

_ "I've been in your room, believe it or not. Almost every day. With your permission. I don't see how this is any different, really," I shrugged, untying my shoes and dropping them below me. "If you'll excuse me," I climbed into the (king-sized) bed and began to pull down the covers, "I have some sleeping to do."_

_ "You're so weird," he mumbled, sitting on the opposite side of the bed. _

_ I shrugged, underneath the covers, positive that he couldn't see it. "Whatever. Just let me sleep." My breathing started to become less shallow and at this point, I was sure that attempting to open my eyes would result in failure. _

_ In my near sleeping state, I heard him mumble once again. "This is ridiculous." The covers shifted, and I felt him crawl into his bed. _

_ "Get over it. Lawlz," I responded and fell promptly asleep._

It was odd—unreal, even, to see us acting like this. I had nearly forgotten about this memory. Heat flooded to my face, watching our younger selves act so…intimate. It was almost gross, until I remembered that I wasn't walking in on somebody else; I was simply…watching myself. Which made it creepier than it should be. It was one thing to remember, it was another to relive. It was strange, it was creepy, it was weird, and I wanted to get this part over with. It was embarrassing, and I wasn't too sure why.

To escape the further embarrassment of being forced to watch and relive this moment, I swiftly left the room and waited outside for them—me—to be done with the nap.

* * *

><p><strong>Bahaha. I think I wrote this chapter a couple weeks ago and I was forced to finish it just recently. I really hope my writing has gotten better. (Probably not, though).<strong>

**Ignore the Lawlz near the end, though. Don't even worry about the backstory. Don't you even worry at all.**

**On a more important note, I just bought my tickets to Emerald City Comicon!**

**Why is this so important?**

**Because Tom Felton is going to be there, that's why.**

**And I'm going to meet him.**

**And get his autograph.**

**And a picture.**

**And it. will. be. lovely.**

**Have a lovely however long it'll be until I update next!**

**-Amehhh.**


	20. The Moment

**I felt really bad for leaving you guys hanging for a ****month and a half, so I wrote this up.**

**If worse comes to worse and I can't update within two days of each other anymore, the fact that I updated a whole two times in one week will keep you happy c:**

**It probably won't. Hmm. Oh well.**

**Anyways, I'd love you more than anything (except Tumblr, maybe) if you read and reviewed!**

* * *

><p>Muffled voices and quiet movements were made from inside the room that I was waiting outside of. Quietly getting up (although I saw no reason to be quiet—I could talk and move around as loudly as I wanted to—they wouldn't hear me. I fact, why <em>was<em> I being so quiet? I had every right to be abnormally loud.), I peered inside to see us still peacefully sleeping. As I'm sure I said before, it was a bit weird seeing us so intimate, even though it wasn't really all _that_ intimate.

He had changed so much. Something happened in our sixth year. I couldn't put my finger on it—it was a distant memory that was slowly pushing itself forward. Something had happened, and I was going to find out just what. I decided that from this moment forward, I would spend all my time trying to figure out what happened before I passed out.

There was the trip to Hogwarts…and we got off the train…and then there was the feast…with lots of good food. Pudding? Chicken? _Hey_, I told myself, _stop it. You're supposed to be figuring out what happened._ Then there was Draco, he was acting a bit strange…wasn't really eating his food. Although why he wouldn't eat his food perplexed me. The feasts at Hogwarts gave my mother a run for her money when it came to cooking. I'm sure there was cake for dessert—were there cupcakes? Did they even _have_ cupcakes in the wizarding world?

If I didn't wake up soon and eat some food, I was going to go crazy.

_I rolled over, desperately wishing that I could go back to sleep. Naps and going to bed early were generally my downfall nowadays during the school year. Thankfully, I had accomplished some sort of a nap and had just recently woken up. I rolled over once more, thoroughly enjoying the space I had on this bed. That was, however, cut short when I rolled into what I didn't think was a pillow._

_That's right. I forgot I decided to fall asleep in his bed. Why did I ever think that this was a good idea? His being here was severely cutting my rolling over space quite short. I considered waking him up to tell him to roll over some more, I thought about stealing more blankets—I even thought about simply shoving him off the bed. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to let him be. In fact, this was the first time I'd been this close to him—it was the first time I'd been this close to a boy at all._

_I liked it._

_It was nice to be this close to him. He was after, my closest boy friend. I snuggled up closer to him. I never even thought twice about it. When he put his arm around me, I sincerely hoped that he was sleeping—if he was awake and knew that I was (not so) secretly enjoying it, he would never (and I mean _never_) let me live it down. Deep down, I knew that I actually wanted him to be awake, have full consciousness of what he was doing. Maybe he felt the same way._

_That's weird, Emma. That is just full on weird. There is no way you have a crush on Draco Malfoy of all people. Not going to happen. Never _will_ happen. Heat formed on my face. It already did happen. This was cool, if he found out about _this_, I don't think I could even show my face around Hogwarts. What would Harry say? What would _Hermione_ say? Good God, I wanted to go home._

_No I didn't. That was stupid of me. Why would I want to go home?_

_I nearly jumped when I heard Draco murmur "Please try not to ruin this moment, Emma."_

_Moment? There was a moment? Was it a sentimental moment, or was he just wanting to sleep? Did I wake him up and he wanted me to go back to sleep? Did he think I was talking in my sleep? I was overanalyzing this, and I needed to stop. It was a bit difficult though. Calm yourself. I just need to play this cool. No need to get all worked up._

"_Hmm?" I mumbled, trying to pretend that he had just woken me from my slumber. I hoped that all those times I pretended to be asleep when Hermione tried to get me up paid off. _

"_Nice try, Emma, I know you're awake." Opening my eyes, I found that he was looking at me boredly. "Feel free to stop your silly charade at any time." He shook me multiple times, as if to wake me up. "I know you're just faking, come on, now."_

_I rolled over a couple times, grumbling that my act had been seen through. "Alright, alright. Care to tell me why you don't want me to ruin this moment?" Very suave. _

_He glanced away so quickly that I almost didn't catch it. "Nevermind. You've already ruined it. It's a shame." He sat up. "C'mon, get up," he said as he grabbed his shoes, " We have two weeks until the Quidditch World Cup, and you have a lot to learn. Get to your room so I can change, and get on a comfy pair of pants and a jumper."_

"_And why should I do that?" I questioned, rising from my warm spot on his bed. After crossing my arms in annoyance that my already short nap was cut even shorter, I decided to give him an annoyed glare._

_Draco gave me a look that should have explained it all. "The quickest way to learn Quidditch, Emma, is to actually play."_

* * *

><p><strong>Bam. So I'm deviating from the original story line a little bit. It's like those horrible awkward filler episodes in Naruto.<strong>

**But not, because this isn't as horrible or awkward.**

**Well, like I said alll the way up there, I'd love you if you reviewed!**

**No, really. **

**If you reviewed, it'd make my cabin fever week even better :D**

**-Amehhh**


	21. Playing Quidditch

**Hello there!**

**So I finally decided to update...oops.**

**Anyways, I'm back in action, sort of. I _did_ say that I was going to carry through with this silly thing, though! So here's the next chapter, seven months later, in all of its lack of glory!**

* * *

><p>I buried my face in my hands. Of course I would have to relive this part. It was almost worse the second time around, knowing that I still hadn't improved since the last time. Flying, as it turns out, was one of the many things I was incapable doing. Our flying lessons had always been cut short, thanks to Harry and Draco's rivalry. Madam Hooch always had to intervene; the two were always throwing each other glares and words. And thanks to the lack of attention to the rest of the class that needed help-namely me, Hermione and Neville on the Gryffindor side-we never really learned all that much.<br>_Draco was the worst teacher ever. That's all there is to it. I almost fell off my broom as I pushed off the ground. There were too many reasons as to why I shouldn't ever play Quidditch: one of them mainly being that I couldn't stay upright. The blood rushed to my head so frequently within the past hour that it was absolutely odd to not be upside down. "Can we do normal things now?" I shouted to him._  
><em>"This <em>is_ normal! Come on, at least _try_ to catch the quaffle this time!" He tossed it my way._  
><em>I had no time to hesitantly raise my hands and keep my balance on the broom. Amazingly, I caught it for the first time after way too many tries. "Okay...what now?"<em>  
><em>"Fly towards that hoop over there," he pointed down the field, "and attempt to throw it in."<em>  
><em>"...Right. I'll go do that." Slowly, I flew my way over there, barely breaking what I thought was ten miles an hour. <em>  
><em>"C'mon, Hughes, you can go faster than that." Draco flew to me, grasped the handle off my broom, and flew faster than I wanted to. <em>  
><em>My eyes were squeezed tight; my knuckles were turning white, I was sure; and if I was correct, I was screaming. I felt us slow to a stop. Opening my eyes, I saw that we were only a few feet away from the hoop. <em>  
><em>"Go on then, toss it in. Even someone as athletically challenged as you could make it in."<em>  
><em>"We can only hope," I somewhat agreed. I bit my lip as I threw the quaffle.<em>  
><em>"So, when you throw the quaffle into any of the three hoops on a real Quidditch field, that means ten points for whatever team you're on. The person who protects these hoops is called the keeper. There isn't a point limit for quaffles. Teams could have a thousand points each, and still be playing."<em>  
><em>I sniffled once more, unsure if the cause of it was from the overcast, muggy weather, or the fact that I was high up off the ground playing a sport I was absolutely terrible at made me feel terrible about my abilities as a human being. "Okay, cool. I think I get this part."<em>  
><em>"Can you get back down on your own?" He looked at me doubtfully.<em>  
><em>"Of course I can, don't be daft." My knuckles whitened again as I started to question myself. The broom's handle went down as I controlled it shakily, and closely after, I started to go down too. When I finally reached the ground, he helped me steady myself, took the broom, and laid it on the ground (away from me). Next to us was the shaking box from where the quaffle came. He picked the ball up from the dewy grass, opened the box, and placed it carefully inside. "What are those ones?" I pointed to the two black ones that were rattling the box. <em>  
><em>"Those are bludgers, and with your experience-well, utter lack of experience-we won't be using those. Ever. There are two beaters to a team. Do you remember the chasers we talked about?"<em>  
><em>I nodded.<em>  
><em>"They take care of the quaffle. The beaters each have a bat, and use these," he placed a hand on the bludgers, "to try to knock people off their brooms. Do you remember second year when Potter got knocked off his broom by that enchanted bludger?" A trace of a smile lingered on his face.<em>  
><em>"Of course, who couldn't? That was horrible!"<em>  
><em>His small smile turned to a faint frown of annoyance. "Anyways. They aren't supposed to be enchanted to hit one person, they're supposed to hit whoever the beaters want to hit. The best option is the keeper, of course-it gives you the free range to make as many goals as you can until the keeper recovers."<em>  
><em>"Like Oliver Wood," I deadpanned. No matter how well Slytherin played, they were still total cheats.<em>  
><em>"Like Oliver Wood." he agreed (slightly amused?).<em>  
><em>A change of subject was needed before I actually did punch him in the face.<em>  
>I remembered absolutely wanting to punch him in the face-and felt a bit relieved that Hermione did in third year. I wish I could have seen it. As much as I loved Draco, he needed somebody to stick it to him. Sometimes pricks needed to be shown that they aren't all that. Of course, some more than others.<br>_"So what is this one?"_  
><em>"That right there is the golden snitch-which, by the way, haven't you ever seen a Quidditch game? How do you not know about all of this?"<em>  
><em>I shrugged. "I have a hard time paying attention to most sports games without good reason. Magical or not."<em>  
><em>"You <em>are_ going to try to pay attention at the Quidditch World Cup, aren't you?"_  
><em>"Yes, of course I will. I'm not going to just have your family get me a ticket and not appreciate it. That'd be horrid of me. Besides, how many other people will be able to say they've been to a Quidditch World Cup?"<em>  
><em>"Plenty. The arena is huge. The real question is: how many other people will get to say they've had the best seats in the whole place <em>and_ sit by some of the most important people in the government?" His face, though slightly different, somehow remained the same—smug as always._

_ "Not that many," I noted, "but sitting next to a government official isn't really that big of an accomplishment to me. I prefer to stray away from politics, unless, of course, like any other regular individual, I have strong opinions about it."_

_ "Who doesn't? However, I have a feeling that I don't really want to get into politics with you." He quickly changed the subject, "Are you actually excited or are you just being your unpleasantly nice usual self?" He glanced at me, and for a moment I actually thought that there was something there, that he was feeling the slightest bit insecure. He had just introduced me to a big part of his life, and was obviously excited to share it with me. If I made it seem like I was a bit uninterested (which, in a way I was, for sports and I didn't exactly coincide), he might get downcast yet play it off as annoyed. It wasn't every day I figured Draco might get insecure about something, but if there was something I wasn't going to do, it would be to not bring it up._

_ Slowly, my words came out of my mouth after thinking how they should be placed. "I'm not uninterested—in fact, that's the opposite at all. Nobody's really had the patience to teach me how this whole Quidditch thing works, and I thank you for that. Quidditch has always been something that I've put to the back burner simply because it's a sport, and sports don't really do it for me. I can't deny that actually playing—well, attempting to play—Quidditch hasn't been fun. And besides, who can say that they aren't looking forward to attending one of the most renowned World Cups of our time? It's going to be an experience of a lifetime and you're the one to thank for that."_

_ My answer must have been acceptable, for he smiled and grabbed my hands. "Your hands are freezing. Come on, let's go inside."_

_ "The equipment, though."_

_ He looked a bit bewildered and reminded me: "House elves."_

_ "Right, then. Off we go." We walked away from the field and towards his manor, neither of us mentioning the fact that he was still holding my hand._

* * *

><p><strong>Hopefully it wasn't all that terrible! <strong>

**Anyways, to all of you that review, thanks for either coming for the first time or sticking with me and all of my ridiculousness!**

**You guys are seriously great. Really.**

**-Amehhh**


	22. The Quidditch World Cup

**Oh, hello again! **

**It looks like this time I've actually updated on time! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>It was early in the morning, and for once, I wasn't tired. I'm sure it's probably because I'm still technically unconscious, but then again, no complaints for not needing some sort of caffeinated drink just to make me somewhat lucid. Poor Hogwarts: there was no coffee, no soda…just the every-now-and-then tea. How disappointing. Either way, the sun had just begun to rise, and the sky was the palest of blues and yellows. I was walking with the Malfoy family and myself, trying to find the portkey that would take us to the camping grounds. I looked at my younger self, whose hair was in a calm disarray, and was trudging along, yawning every moment of it. The Malfoys probably hadn't even heard of caffeine.<p>

_Oh why, oh why did I not bring a case full of soda to the manor? What a rotten lack of an idea. Here I am, trudging along at six in the morning, hopelessly looking to find something completely _ordinary._ This was not my idea of a good morning. My idea of a good morning is for it to be an afternoon. We all stopped in our tracks as Lucius spoke. "That must be it." He picked it up and showed us: it was a coat hanger. Draco and I looked at ourselves, unsure of his discovery, but shrugged at it anyways. "Come on now," he ushered us, "we don't have all day and this will surely transport us soon. Grip it tightly." We held onto it as firmly as we could I truly hoped this wasn't another one of those things I got sick at._

_ In an instant, I felt as though I was being torn apart—as though I was on the most terrifying rollercoaster. I felt as though we were flying through the air, my stomach lurching every which way. My head hurt, my body spun, and I desperately wished I could just stop it all. I did my best not to scream, but my mouth was hanging open, and I wasn't sure whether it was because of our rapid spinning or because I was openly cursing this entire situation out._

_ "On three," Lucius yelled, "let go!" We spun around more times before he said anything else. Draco placed his hand over mine, as if to make sure I didn't let go early. "Three!"_

_ We ripped our hands off of the coat hanger, and in that moment, I was sure I let out a blood curdling scream. When we landed, we landed _hard_. My back was bound to have bruises down it, if it wasn't already cracked. I groaned, hoping that the end was soon. I rolled over and looked at Draco. "I think you're trying to kill me." I was doing my best to keep the bile that was slowly rising down my throat._

_ He rolled his eyes and slowly made his way onto his feet. "Getting up any time soon?" He peered down at my disapprovingly._

_ I shook my head. "Come back and get me when the game is over." All I wanted to do was to curl up into a ball and burrito myself into blankets and take pain meds and wait for this all to be over. I dearly hoped we weren't taking a portkey back. _

_ Lucius and Narcissa were off to the side, looking as though they hadn't had such a rough landing. Although they probably did do this many times. The process to get to the camping grounds was a bit of an experience though—a bloke by the name of Mr. Roberts had gotten their transaction through, but not before I had to help them figure out which of the paper money was a twenty, and which was a ten. "Nearly had to obliviate him, I did. Old fool," Lucius muttered. By our campsite was a sign that read out in neat handwriting, _Malfoy. _"Well, here we are. Draco, help me with the tent. We can't let any of the muggles see us use our wands." With that, Narcissa and I went to the side and let them go do their work. We made small talk, commenting on the nice weather, and how we would just let the other two run off and do with their sports obsession. Narcissa looked at the two try to figure out the tent with a bemused glance and confided in me that she would much rather be having a rather large breakfast back at the manor._

* * *

><p>Nighttime soon fell, and the festivities were to begin in just an hour. A flock of people were lining up, attempting to get into the stadium, whilst others were buying their hearts out at the gift shop. I had a moment's thought to go in for when I was with the Malfoy's, they hadn't taken a second (or first) glance at it. For fear of losing myself, I decided to go along with them once more. It wasn't too long of a walk to get to the arena, but for a second I had wondered why we hadn't apparated to the end of the line, only to guess that it was to show of our, or rather, <em>their <em>extravagance. Their knack for showing themselves off was astounding, as shown by the few white peacocks that were now tethered outside the tent.

_The amount of people were staggering, and even more were trying to crowd into the building. I clung to Draco's arm, not wanting to get separated from them. I had lost count of the stairs we had climbed, not wanting to look down. _Yet another reason why I don't play Quidditch. What if I fell? No magic could possibly cure a bashed in head._ I was constantly getting closer and closer to Draco trying to avoid the possibility that I could be flattened within seconds with so many people bustling about. I wasn't paying attention to our proper surroundings as I was being bombarded by the shoulders of folks I hadn't heard of. _

_ I looked up when I heard a voice I should have been familiar with: "…ah, and here's Lucius!" Harry, Ron and Hermione seemingly glowered at the mention and appearance of Draco's father. Not too sure how to act around them now that I was spending my summer with a boy whom they dreaded, I attempted to find their eyes before they found mine and smiled sheepishly. We all murmured greetings, with the exception of Draco, who I figured was slowly trying to pull me closer to him. _

There were a lot of moments that were so thick I wouldn't be able to cut them with a knife. I cringed, I turned away, I tried to pretend that I didn't hear it this time or the first time. It was a terrible moment, and I just wanted to scream over how tense the whole ordeal was.

_"Good lord, Arthur," Lucius said, "What did you have to sell to get seats in the Top Box? Surely your house wouldn't have fetched this much?" _

_ My jaw dropped and my arm fell from Draco's. I stood there in utter shock until after a few moments, when Draco told me I was about to catch a fly. My head would have been buried in the sand, had there been any. Blood flushed to my face in embarrassment. I had known the Malfoys to not be particularly pleasant people when they wanted to be, but the inquiry I had heard was just plain _mean_. I was particularly ashamed of being part of this situation._

_ I slowly took my seat next to Draco, wondering which of my classmates would be sitting next to me. I hated being the buffer, but if that's what it would take to stop the two families from fighting ferociously, I would do it. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Draco's hand being firmly placed on my knee. "Are you ready? It's just about to start," he grinned._

_ "I'm ready," I smiled back at him. It was a bit chilly, being at the top of the arena, but my goosebumps were forgotten as—Ludo, I think Mr. Malfoy said his name was—began to announce the beginning of the match. Excitement grabbed me from behind and I was all too eager to start watching. The mascots blew up before our eyes—and galleons flew onto the ground. I picked one up, inspected it, and almost tucked it away into my pocket until Draco told me that they weren't actually real. _

_ "I bet the Weasleys wouldn't know that—I bet they're on their knees picking them up right now." He leaned backwards to get by me as if to view them or to catch them in the act._

_ Putting my arm around his neck, I pulled him back. "Come off it. We're all here to enjoy ourselves, don't go making a fool of yourself." I retracted my arm and crossed them across my chest, remembering just how cold it was. _

_ "Do you want my jacket?" Draco unfastened the buttons, took it off, and draped it around my shoulders. "You're very cold," he said, feeling my face. "Try not to freeze." His hand fell, and landed on top of mine. It remained that way for a very long while._

* * *

><p><strong>Good? Yes? No? (Hopefully yes?)<strong>

**Let me know by reviewing! I always appreciate it!**

**I'll catch you all later~**

**-Amehhh**


	23. The Dark Mark

**Oh gosh, hi. **

**It's me again. **

**Once again, sorry it's taken me so long, but hey, this one is twice the length it usually is!**

**Good times, good times.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Why would he <em>do_ that? Why would he catch the snitch before they had enough points to win? Seems absolutely foolish to me—" I lay in the bed that I was given for the overnight event. _

_Tomorrow, we'd return to the manor and I would have my comfortable bed to sleep in rather than this slightly better than average one. As it had turned out, the tent only had one story, and the reason this was (and the reason they had peacocks, something she still couldn't believe) was because, as Narcissa had told me when we were chatting when the tent was being set up, it was all for a show. _There's no need to spend more money than necessary for a one-time thing, _she had said. _It's all in the appearance: nobody but us is going to come inside. Besides, it's only for one night, and the money could go for better things.

"_He did it because he knew there was no way his team would win—Krum's thoughtful like that. Would you rather have been out there sitting, waiting for Bulgaria to catch up?" I opened my mouth to retort. "Oh, no, you don't. You are not going to get me for that one. You were absolutely freezing out there, and don't deny it. You Gryffindors are so squeamish for unlikely conditions. Besides, think of how Krum must have felt. He was out there, but having the wind go at his face! You all really don't think of others."_

"_Oh, I'm sorry, I was under the vague impression that we _Gryffindors_ stopped Voldemort, stopped Voldemort, stopped an Azkaban escapee—oh ye'h, we really don't think of others. Merlin forbid."_

_He nodded his head slightly, which I could only see from the dim candlelight. "I know you don't," Draco agreed._

_I let out a big sigh. "Whatever. I'm going to go to bed. Maybe tomorrow I'll give candy to a baby, or maybe I won't trip a little boy when he's walking through Diagon Alley. But then again, come to think of it, I'll probably just do my best to mess everybody up, like usual. Goodnight," I finished, rolling over so that I didn't have to face him as I fell asleep._

"_Come off it," he shook my shoulder with his hand. Our beds weren't very far apart, with only a tiny nightstand and the candle between us. _

_I rolled over again so that I could face him. "I will when you stop generalizing us. We aren't all stupid people who jump into fights without thinking or caution."_

"_Fine, but you have to stop thinking that Slytherin isn't a house full of people who just want to give you a rough time. Sure, it gives us pleasure, but there really are some nice people in there who just want to focus on their work and having a good time."_

_I stared him in the eye. "Fine."_

_ "For some reason, I don't think you believe me." _

_ "Well, Draco, I don't exactly associate myself with many Slytherins. It's hard not to generalize."_

_ "And I don't exactly associate myself with many Gryffindors."_

_ Silence hung between us for a couple of moments as I tried to think of a response. He had gotten me this time. There was no use in trying to make myself seem the smarter in this situation. "Point taken."_

_ We both mutually agreed that it was now time to sleep, as it must be two in the morning _at least_. Sleep came quickly, despite the drunken cheers of the excited Irish._

* * *

><p><em> Abruptly, Lucius ran into the room and demanded Draco's presence. "We need you—come with me outside. It's an emergency." It was surprising that we were woken up by him, and not the screams of scared individuals. When had the cheers of winning a match turned into screams of horror? How long had we been asleep? Judging by the darkness, not very long. It may as well have been three or four in the morning. <em>

_ "What's the matter?" His grogginess quickly turned into a tone of concern._

_ "Follow me," Lucius ordered, and left the room so that Draco could get ready._

_ I sat up, ready to come with them—the whole time we were here, we were never separate. This time surely wouldn't be any different. Yet, the yelling…_

_ "What are you doing?" Draco looked at my pointedly as I was putting on my shoes. _

_ "I'm coming with you."_

_ A smug grin appeared on his face. "Are you thinking cautiously about jumping into this battle?"_

_ I glared at him. "I'm still coming."_

_ "No, you aren't," he sighed. "I don't know what's going on out there, but my father asked for me, not _us_. And judging by what it sounds like, I don't want you to go out there. You're my responsibility. If something happens to you, I'll be the one explaining what happened, and I don't want to be the one to own up to the fact that I was the one that let you go off and do something you shouldn't be doing."_

_ "I'm not your responsibility. This is something I want to do. I want to help."_

_ "What would you _do_?" He shouted. My breath hitched in my throat and my stomach plummeted. To my knowledge, he had never raised his voice against me: not once. "What would you do?" He repeated, though slower and softer, this time. _

_ "I-I….I don't know," I admitted._

_ "I know you don't know. Which is why I need you to stay here. I don't know what's going on out there, and neither do you. I'm not going to risk that chance. This isn't some cute Gilderoy Lockhart wizard's duel. This is real. And if something happens to me, I don't know what that'll be. It might be an expelliarmus spell, or I might not come out of this. _I don't know. _So I need you to stay here," he paused, seemingly struggling to say something. "For me."_

_ I nodded my head. "Okay. Okay, I'll stay here. I promise."_

_ He pulled me in for a quite unexpected hug. I could feel his heart beating fast—but I didn't know if it was for me, or if he was scared. "I think my mother's brewing tea. You can wait with her until we get back. I've got to go." He released me quickly and ran out to join his father. For a split moment, I had forgotten about the terror of others, of what might be possibly going on in the world outside of Draco's arms._

* * *

><p><em> Narcissa had sat me down in the tent's kitchen with a cuppa. She seemed oddly calm for what was going outside beyond the tent, but what more could one expect from a Slytherin? I mentally scolded myself for that one. Narcissa was a fine lady who had treated me with the utmost respect since I met her. <em>

_ "What's going on out there?" I asked, bringing the warm tea to my lips. From the window, there was a faint shadow of green. People were being lifted into the air—they were flailing, as though they wanted to get down despite the distance to the ground. It didn't feel right, sitting here in a different standard of luxury, warm, and safe, when people on the other side were terrified, running, screaming, shouting out spells either to harm or to protect._

_ "Terrible things. The Death Eaters have taken over the camp. At least, for the time being."_

_ "What are Death Eaters?" From a first guess, I might have thought that they weren't the friendliest sort of people. The name Death Eaters simply didn't ring a very nice bell. _

_ "Well, to put it in the broadest terms…" she paused, as if wondering how to go about with the subject. "They're you-know-who's followers."_

_ "Oh." I didn't dare to press the topic any further, and tried to utilize my small-talk skills. For who knows who long, we sat talking about the match, who we think should have won, (how attractive Krum was—or was he just so good at Quidditch that it made him more becoming?), our favorite kinds of tea, what she normally does over summers when Draco's back without friends…We tried to make this go on for as long as we could until the two returned. Eventually, we gave up and resorted to drinking our tea in comfortable silence. _

_ It wasn't too long before a bright green flash erupted through our window. Narcissa and I immediately put our cuppas on the table, grabbed our wands and left the tent. In the sky, a skull and a giant snake had made their presence known. _

_ "What is it?"_

_ No answer came just yet, for Lucius and Draco ran up to us and ushered us indoors as quickly as they could. "What were you doing outside?" Lucius questioned the two of us._

_ I let Narcissa handle this—it was her husband, and I didn't need him disliking me more than he probably already did. I tuned out their conversation, and made my move to hug Draco. There was no stopping the flow of questions. "What happened? Are you alright? What was that in the sky? Are you hurt? What started all of this?"_

_ "Father," Draco got his attention, "Emma and I are returning to our room for the night. We'll see you in the morning." Before his father could respond, he turned around, and we made our way to our room with his hand on my back, making it look as though he was guiding me. When we shut the door behind us, I started back up with the questions. "Well? What happened?"_

_ "Death Eaters, the Dark Mark, Potter and his devout group of friends," he listed off the factors of his night. _

_ "Are you going to explain any of that to me?"_

_ "Death Eaters are you-know-who's followers. One of them conjured the Dark Mark, and Potter and his friends were out in the woods doing who knows what."_

_ "Why were you in the woods?" I needed answers, and he certainly wasn't giving me all of them. The prat._

_ He shrugged. "Nothing better to do."_

_ I looked at him, slightly appalled. "Draco, people were in the _air_. They were _screaming_. What do you mean nothing better to do?"_

_ "What could I have done? We're going into our fourth year at Hogwarts. There isn't anything I could have done; I don't know the spells. I'm a good wizard, not a great one. I'll admit to that. I don't like to, but I will. I couldn't have done anything. And even if I could have, I wouldn't have known what to do." He explained calmly and slowly. His night was beginning to catch up to him as his blinking turned into resting his eyes for seconds at a time._

_ I accepted his answer, and moved in to hug him for the next time that night. "I'm just glad you're okay." I unwrapped the scarf he had put on after Lucius rushed into the room just an hour or more before. "You look really tired. Get some sleep, okay?" I set the scarf at the edge of his bed, and patted his chest. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

_ "Sure." He sat down in his bed, and almost fell asleep right then and there. On the other hand, I stayed awake, thanks to the tea, and the now deafening silence of the campgrounds. I was amazed at his ability to simply shut down like that. He had seen more than me—all I saw was from a small window and those few seconds out in the open. It made me think. Was he just so tired that he didn't have the energy to think of these things, or had he seen worse things? I wrestled with this question in my head until my brain finally convinced itself that thinking about it wouldn't give me any answers. There was only one person who knew those answers, but I would have to wait until the morning to ask him._

* * *

><p><em><em>**How was it? Hopefully it satisfied you until the next time I update!**

**Lucky for you, I've been feeling the need to write, so hopefully it'll be sooner than a month! Then again, college.**

**Oh well. Anyways.**

**Let me know how you thought it was, I'm always up for hearing from you guys!**

**-Amehhh**


	24. Remembering the Train Ride In

**Hey, everyone! **

**You've probably noticed that I've updated in two days instead of two months. **

**After writing that last chapter, I've just really been wanting to write, so I've been cranking them out, so to speak.**

**I'm posting this one now instead of later because for me, nanowrimo starts in about an hour and a half, and most of my time will be dedicated to that rather than the fanfiction. Because I have like, two others written, I should still post them in a (somewhat) timely manner. ****Are any of you out there doing nanowrimo?**

**Anyways, it would tickle my fancy if you would read and review!**

* * *

><p>I wanted to cover myself in embarrassment. Sure, nobody else had seen—nobody else was around to have seen what had happened over the course of the summer. Swell. No, really. If anyone was around, I would have just <em>died.<em> I sat my hand down on the counter, which was the current home to the portkey we took to get to these fiel—My insides were churning, my arms felt like they were being ripped off my body and let's not forget the screaming! How was I supposed to know the bloody portkey would work from—what even was this place? The fourth dimension? Anyways, when I had landed, I was back at Hogwarts. From the looks of it, the fourth year was just beginning. Though, I wouldn't have minded skipping ahead a couple years. I just wanted to leave this place already and get back to where I belonged.

No, that didn't make too much sense. I want to leave Hogwarts to get back to Hogwarts? Oh, whatever, I'm sick and tired of this nonsense. "Honestly, is there any point in trying to figure this all out?" I don't know what I was trying to achieve when I shouted to the sky, but maybe I thought some figure…God, or Merlin, or who knows who else, might come, sit me down, and explain everything over a cuppa. Of course it wouldn't happen like that though. I perform magic, not miracles. Shaking my head, I went in through the front doors to find that classes had already started: the halls were deserted. How long had school been in session? Judging by the not-so-terrible weather, I would say that no more than a month had passed.

Boy, was I glad that I missed the train ride, now that I thought about it. Talk about awkward. Once we rant through Platform 9 ¾, it was almost as though Draco ignored me. He stalked over to Crabbe and Goyle, and looked back at me once or twice until I had found Ginny and Neville chatting by the rest of the Weasleys. It was like the summer had never happened, like we didn't do anything, like nothing was ever said. It hurt. I never put it past Draco to do something like that, though. I pretended as though nothing happened either, as if it were for the best. Nobody knew but he and I what was said in that tent, what happened around the lake, and he apparently intended to keep it that way—as did I, but to a different extent. I wouldn't dare tell a soul, but I didn't plan on making it that it never truly happened. Yet, there I was: it had happened twice. I shoved the hurt away, and made my way to where I thought my class took place.

What had actually happened on the train? I was sitting in the compartment opposite of Harry, Ron, and Hermione with Neville and Ginny. We were just talking about our summers, leaving out the part where we were all at the Quidditch World Cup: Weasleys, Malfoys, and one Hughes. There was already an unspoken rule to never speak of it again hanging over our heads. It wasn't before long that our conversation died thanks to Draco and his goons made their way to poke fun at Harry and company.

Ginny had visibly sized up, as if she were preparing for some battle with them. Upon greater listening, and remembering, I could easily recall what had been said.

_"So…going to enter, Weasley? Going to try and bring a bit of glory to the family name? There's money involved as well, you know…you'd be able to afford some decent robes if you won…"_

_ "What are you talking about?" Snapped Ron._

_ "_Are you going to enter?_" Malfoy repeated. "I suppose _you_ will, Potter? You never miss a chance to show off, do you?"_

_ "Either explain what you're on about or go away, Malfoy, I heard Hermione say testily._

_ Ginny leaned into us, "What _is_ he going on about? Do you have any idea?" She looked pointedly at me._

_ "No idea," I said. She deadpanned, trying to tell me off for spending half the summer with such a despicable person as Malfoy, and not knowing what the heck he's talking about. _

_ Mumbling, I frowned, "Sorry." We leaned back into the conversation that was going on in the other compartment._

_ "…My God, _my_ father told me about it ages ago…heard it from Cornelius Fudge. But then, Father's always associated with the top people at the Ministry…Maybe your father's too junior to know about it, Weasley…yes, they probably don't talk about important stuff in front of him." Draco and his cohorts laughed delightedly and derisively, and stalked off to bother others._

_ "What a prick," Neville muttered. "Always thinking he can do what he wants…It's not fair."_

_ Ginny regained her posture, looking less like she wanted to claw Draco's eyes out, and more like she wanted to hex him. "I agree. Some people just shouldn't open their mouths."_

_ Not too sure how I should respond to the conversation, I simply said "Yeah." _

And that was how the train ride went, as far as I could recall it. It was all so awkward, unbearable. I was thankful when classes happened, and there was less talk about my spending time with Draco and more headaches about Snape's classes. In any consolation, I was more than glad to spend my time working on essays than talking to _him_ about his sudden change in personality. Just when he had started to seem so human. Then again, it was just us and his parents at the manor. Here, it was us, and dozens of students and staff members.

It wouldn't have been acceptable.

Wait, what? What exactly wouldn't have been acceptable? Us spending time together as friends? …Us spending time together as something more? I slid down the stone walls and settled myself into a sitting position. There was no way that I like him. Liked him? This was terrible. Utterly, horribly, terrible. He's so nice to me when he's not being a total prat, but when he is being a total prat, he's the most unbearable little prick out there. That's not a person I should like. He's mean, egocentric, derisive, and intimidating, among other things.

He was alluring, though. How is he _even_ remotely alluring? I didn't want to think about it. But considering I had nothing else to do until classes got out (believe me—I was sitting outside Professor Binns classroom. Any lesson of his is a lesson I don't want to repeat), I decided to think on it. Sure, he was all of those terrible things. But with me he could be really nice, and thoughtful and caring. Yet shouldn't I be focused on someone who is all of those things _all_ of the time? How could he be so disgusted with Hermione, yet be completely fine with me? How was that even possible? She's a muggle-born, I'm a muggle-born…how exactly did I persuade him to be okay with that? I was okay with my heritage, and he is someone who wouldn't be. Yet, he was.

I don't want to watch this all out. I don't want to relive my memories until the end of my sixth year. I don't want to be here, I don't want to be thinking this hard.

I just wanted to be awake again.

* * *

><p><strong>So that's the next chapter! Hopefully I'll have the next one up between a week or two-but we'll see. <strong>

**I hope you've all enjoyed it-let me know what you thought of it in a review! If you liked it, let me know why, if you didn't, tell me why and give me constructional criticism. Honestly, it'll help a ton with the way I write. I won't be (too) butthurt, I promise.**

**Have a great rest of your day, and if you're on the East Coast: keep safe!**

**-Amehhh**


	25. Of Ferrets and First Fights

**Hello~**

**So yes, here is that chapter I think I might have promise although I'm not too sure oops**

**But anyways, I hope you enjoy it, and it'd be great if once you read it, you could review!**

* * *

><p>The class had finally let out, and loads of students piled out the doors in an attempt to further themselves away from the room. The younger Emma started walking hastily to the Great Hall in an attempt to get to the food faster. Not that I could blame her—I'm starving. Not that I could eat anything, either…Come on, Madam Pomfrey, you must be putting <em>something<em> in me! Either way, I still followed her, and tried to ignore the delicious smells and mouth-watering sights that flooded my senses. Chicken and potatoes and corn among other precious things such as pudding and cake were laid out among the queue table: the buffet style worked really well until people decided to take their time when getting food.

It wasn't before long when Harry, Ron and Hermione waltzed in the room, preparing themselves for what looked like a delicious meal. I remembered always trying to make it to the Great Hall before them—Ron specifically. He was one of those people that took their luxurious time filling their plates all the way to the brim, and then returned for seconds.

_Draco and his friends piled into the room behind me a minute or so before the Golden Trio walked in. I almost wanted to talk to him—to find out why exactly he had just dropped me off like I didn't exist anymore, but quickly decided that food at this point was more important, and the conversation would be better off existing between just us two, and not the entire hall. _

_ Inwardly, I groaned when I heard his voice. "Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"_

_ "What?" Said Ron shortly._

_ "Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Malfoy, waving about a copy of the Daily Prophet. "Listen to this!" He began reading aloud the paper which I still had not yet received by owl post, and once again thoroughly annoyed me. He reached a certain point, in which Arthur Weasley was wrongly named Arnold, stopped, and looked up. "Imagine them not even getting his nme right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?"_

_ It was finally my turn to get food, so I took the opportunity in trying to drown him out. _

_ The paper crunched as he flicked it so that it would remain upright. "And there's a picture, Weasley!" Said Malfoy, flipping the paper over and holding it up so everybody within range could see. "A picture of your parents outside their house—if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"_

_ The hall fell to an awkward silence. Ron was visibly shaking with an intense fury. Everybody was staring at him, but it was impossible to tell if he noticed._

_ Harry spoke up: "Get stuffed, Malfoy. C'mon, Ron…"_

_ "Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" He sneered. "Tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"_

_ "You know _your_ mother, Malfoy?" He started up. Ron was being held back by he and Hermione. "That expression she's got—like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"_

_ If the hall could have gotten any more silent, it would have. The tension hung over all of us like a heavy fog. The food queue had stopped to a complete halt, and my mashed potatoes were still on the serving spoon in my hand in mid-air. All of our attention was focused on the fight between the two, our eyes switching from Harry to Ron to Draco, unsure of who we should be staring at. _

_ Draco went slightly pink from—what was that? Embarrassment? "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter," he glowered._

_ "Keep your fat mouth shut, then," Harry retorted. _

_ One would have to be blind to not be able to see one size the other up, ready to attack. Two loud bangs distracted them, and the newest Defence Against the Dark Arts professor stepped inside, limped down the marble staircase and shouted, "Oh no you don't, laddie!" The next thing we all knew was that where Draco had been, there was a small, white ferret. Everybody stood, more terrified than awkwardly, and watched the turn of events slowly unfold. "Did he get you?" Professor Moody asked Harry._

_ "No, he missed."_

_ "Leave it!" Professor Moody abruptly shouted._

_ "What?" Harry asked, bewildered._

_ "Not you—him!" The professor limped over to Crabbe and Goyle, who were trying to pick up Draco. With a frightened squeak, the ferret began to take off. "I don't think so!"_

What was I supposed to call him, anyways? Draco, or the ferret? Both seemed rather fitting, but it didn't take a scientist to be able to figure out which one he most likely preferred…

_Pointing his wand to the ferret, he made Draco go, what would it be, about ten feet up in the air? And let him drop, only to lift him back up once more. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," he growled as Draco bounced higher and higher. His squeals of pain made me cringe. I wanted to defend him, somehow, for any student that that could have happened to would have been subjected to a cruel punishment, which it was. That thought was out of my mind so fast that it may as well not even have been there in the first place. First he ignores me, and second he goes on making a complete ass out of himself. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do…Never—do—that—again—" _

_ McGonagall, coming down the marble staircase dropped her books in astonishment. "Professor Moody!"_

_ "Hello, Professor McGonagall," said Professor Moody calmly, still bouncing Draco. _

_ Her eyes began to follow the ferret up and down the air, as if she were trying to process what was happening. "What—what are you doing?"_

_ "Teaching," Professor Moody said, simply._

_ "Teach—Moody, is _that a student_?" McGonagall shrieked._

_ Once again, the Professor stayed calm: "Yep."_

_ "No!" McGonagall cried, starting to run down the stairs and pulling out her wand. A moment later, along with a snapping noise that echoed, and Draco was lying in a heap on the floor with his usually sleek blond hair disheveled, and face pink with pain and embarrassment. He took it upon himself to stand, wincing. "Moody, we _never _use transfiguration as a punishment! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"_

_ "He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Professor Moody, scratching his chin. "I just thought a good sharp shock—"_

_ "We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"_

_ "I'll do that then," he said, looking at Malfoy with dislike._

_ I was urged to carry on with my getting food now that the drama was over. Quickly shoveling other foods on my plate, I made it out of the way of the others as fast as I could. I walked to the Gryffindor table, and I could hear Draco mutter something, though I wasn't sure what it was. It was probably along the lines of 'my father will hear about this.' I was successful in attempting to ignore everything up until the point where Moody dragged Draco out of the Hall by the arm. _

_ Twenty minutes later, I had finished eating, returned my plates and made my way to go back to the common room so that I could do some homework. What I wasn't expecting to do was chat with Draco on his way back to the Hall so he could finally get some food, but look where I am now. _

_ "Can you believe that Professor? _That's _who the Ministry chose? He doesn't even know proper disciplinary skills!"_

_ I looked around, making sure he wasn't talking to some Slytherin. "Sorry, you were talking to me?"_

_ "Ha ha," he dryly laughed. "Very funny."_

_ "Well, what you did back there wasn't all that funny either. You don't just go about saying those terrible things and not expect to be punished."_

_ He stood there, gaping at me. "I was turned into a _ferret_! How is that even justifiable? It's _not_!" _

_ "You're the one who started saying those things—_and _you took a cheap shot. Why can't you just talk behind their backs like a normal person? You can't seriously expect me to be on your side for this. That'd be absurd. You—you deserve it for treating everybody like utter shit!"_

_ "I don't treat people like shit!"_

_ I wasn't sure when our voices began to rise, but now they were ringing against the stone walls. _

_ "Are you sure? Because you certainly made the entire Weasley family angry with you talking about their parents like that!"_

_ "It's not my fault their father went about and did something stupid!"_

_ "What about me then? We—" I brought my voice down to a normal level so that people would hear the more personal aspects of this conversation. "We spent half of the summer at your place, we get extremely close, and now what? This is the first time you've spoken to me since we got on the train. It's been two weeks now."_

_ "Of course I haven't spoken to you on the train. There's a reputation I have to uphold, and it's an expectation set by my family. People can't just _know_ we did things together. If they did, what would they say?"_

_ "I have no idea, why are you asking me? Besides, it's not like people don't already know that we're friends. You haven't talked to me in two weeks—they probably already think that something happened between us over the summer."_

_ "Yes, and it's not what they think," he began to match my tone, which turned out being more defeated than I had intended. _

_ "Just forget it," I said, trying to shrug it off. "Leave me alone."_

_ "You're asking me to forget it, even though you clearly don't want to forget? You're asking me to leave you alone, after you just specifically asked why I was leaving you alone? You have got to be one of the most hypocritical people out there."_

_ "I'm sorry for having feelings, alright? I just thought that you wouldn't completely cut me off after all that we've been through." I was embarrassed for admitting it, but I was really hoping that he'd think that I was talking about having feelings in general, and nothing more specific than that. _

_ "I'm not completely cutting you off—we're talking now, aren't we?"_

_ "Yes but—you know what I mean," I sighed, tired of arguing. _

_He pulled me in for the quickest hug I could have imagined. He regained his posture in record time, just in case anybody saw. "See? Not cutting you off. We just hugged."_

_I got the tiniest bit closer and touched a small cut that was on his face. "He really did get you, didn't he?" _

_He winced, I'm pretty sure, but it was hard to tell. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to be feeling it tomorrow."_

"_I should let you go eat. I mean, eating makes everything better. You're already late enough as it is to dinner. Just…try not to make a scene this time." I smiled lightly at him, trying to make the situation feel better than it actually was._

"_Sure, sure. See you later, _Hughes_." For once, the way he said it was more playful than derogatory._

"_Goodbye, _Malfoy_," I returned the gesture, and began walking down the corridor._

Wonderful. After the watching of the whole ordeal for a second time, I was still just as angry as I was the first time. Now that the drama was over, I had the enjoyable experience to watch myself doing History of Magic homework—and that was something I didn't want to do the first time.

* * *

><p><strong>Wellll that was that. I actually kind of really like this chapter but that's just me. It was pretty fun writing it, I'll admit that much! Haha.<strong>

**Anyways, I still have another 3500 words to go on my nanowrimo novel, so I'm going to get on with that! There should definitely be another chapter in at least two weeks, and if there isn't, bother me as much as you possibly can.**

**I would really enjoy it if you took the time to review! I love hearing what you all think, I promise! **

**Happy Thanksgiving!**

**-Amehhh**


	26. A Talk About Curses

**Hey everyone, so I'm back in the game! It's been a bit difficult to update because I've been a bit busy (and also my Harry Potter books are at school oops) but I've had a bit of inspiration so here's the next chapter ;)**

* * *

><p>As it would turn out, I had fallen asleep watching myself do homework. I thought that it was only possible when actually <em>doing<em> homework. Especially Binns' homework: my memory was on an all-time high functioning process ever since I learned things, manipulated the system by remembering them only for tests, and forgetting them after walking out of the classroom. But now, I was no longer in the common room on the comfortable couch (which had become slightly uncomfortable since Seamus sat in me when talking to Neville). Now, I was outside a classroom, resuming the same position I was in waiting for me to get out of class. After thinking for a moment, I realized that I would never be able to use that sentence in this sort of context ever again.

It wasn't before too long that the class was let out, and students rushed by me in a blur. I was among the last to come out: I was busy talking to Lavender Brown for some odd reason.

_"Wasn't that class just _awful_? And the first one—too. He's a good teacher, I'll give him that (not as good as Trelawney, I'd say), but he's much too tormenting to really like," Lavender ranted._

_ "I don't know, I really liked it up until the, well…okay, the everything. Maybe it'll get better?" I tried being positive. _

_ "One can only ho—"_

_ Lavender was cut off by Draco beginning a new conversation between us: "Talking about the class, are we?"_

_ She gave me an unsure look, "I'll see you at dinner, Emma."_

_ "Sure. Bye, Lavender." I turned to Draco. "I was _having _a conversation."_

_ "And you're still having a conversation. Just, with a different person. No big deal. Anyways, how did you find the lesson?"_

_ "It was interesting. Offputting, but interesting. I didn't think it was necessary to do on the first lesson. I mean, I get why he _did_, but…"_

_ He snickered, "What? Didn't find Longbottom's performance funny?"_

_ I stopped dead in my tracks. "Are you serious? Did you get a good look at his face? Maybe he should have dangled that spider in front of yours longer—that'll give you a fraction of what he went through."_

_ "Do you know what he went through?" He turned around so that he was facing me, standing less than a foot away. "Do you?"_

_ "No, I don't, and I don't want to know. He can tell people when he's ready without you lot spoiling it. That is, if you actually know."_

_ "Of course I know," he rolled his eyes. "Don't play silly."_

_ "Well, I don't want to know, thanks." I tried to walk off in a different direction so that he might go away—oh, let's face it. I definitely just wanted to see whether he would keep talking to me or not. Hopefully my inner pathetic was showing._

_ "So," he began anew, "which one did you like the most? The curses, I mean. People say that the one you're most interested in can determine your personality type."_

_ I laughed, "You sound like Trelawney, stop." _

_ He shrugged. "I lied. I thought you might be that sort who would tell me if I gave you a stupid little extra shove."_

_ "We spent an entire summer together, and you think that I would be into something like divination? I'm in arithmancy for a reason."_

_ "Whatever. You still haven't answered my question, though."_

_ Since he was being so persistent, I was almost forced to think about it. Naturally, I ended up thinking about it. My favorite was—no, the most intriguing one was…well, that could have turned morbid quickly. Let's see. There was imperio, where you could control someone; there was crucio, where you could cause someone immense pain; or there was avada kedavra, where you could take someone's life. Avada kedavra was out—taking someone's life was too much for me, and much too painful for others. Which meant crucio was out, because wouldn't one rather die than go through with a pain that terrible? And imperio was terrifying if you were the castee rather than the caster. Not being able to fight your actions sounded a little too much like a nightmare. So really, that left—_

_ "The killing curse. That would be my preferred curse. To kill or be killed in an instant. It's not quite as horrible as the others." _

_ "Ah," he raised his eyebrows as though he wasn't all that surprised. "So you're merciful."_

_ "Clearly. Maybe you should be paying more attention in Trelawney's. You might be able to give me a more in-depth personality test and result. I need to get to my next class now, Draco."_

_ He rolled his eyes in a manner that I surely wouldn't be able to miss. "Of course you do. However, if Trelawney actually taught us something I would be more inclined to pay attention. My favourite curse would be the cruciatus."_

_ "That's cruel." I had honestly thought that he would have gone for the imperius curse. He already had a way with words and the imperius curse would have given him one more level of that Slytherin-like manipulation. "Why anybody would want to send or receive any end of that curse is beyond me. There are some things I will never understand about you."_

_ He shrugged it off. "Come on, let's go get lunch."_

_ "I can't. I've already told you, I have class. And I'm not about to let you become a bad influence on me just because you're hungry. I really best be off."_

_ "Suit yourself," he said as he walked off in the direction of the Great Hall. "I'll see you around." _

_ I found myself looking back at him and I knew that the inevitable really did happen and I could no longer deny it. He was really cute. When he looked at me my heart pounded and I felt like I was going to throw up. I found myself thinking about him when he wasn't around, and I made sure my hair was in its absolute best state. Either I had a terrible, terrible disease, or I had a gigantic crush on Draco Malfoy._

_ Gross._

* * *

><p><em><em>**So it's a bit short...but oh well haha. Thanks for reading, and it would definitely tickle my pickle if you all reviewed! **

**I hope you all have a wonderful New Year!**

**-Amehhh**


	27. Always Draco

**Hey everyone!**

**I'm back in action, straight up New Year's Resolution style.**

**It would be really great if you would read and review! It always means a lot :)**

* * *

><p>The halls were bustling with students trying to get to their classes. It seemed as though they were trying to get their day to move along faster—rumour had it that something big was going to happen later in the day. Somehow, I managed not to go faster than anyone else despite my intangibility factor. Running into, or <em>through<em>, people still wasn't necessarily my style. He would have disapproved. Do it loud, and do it proud, he would have said. But, he wasn't here, so there wasn't any way he could have possibly said that to me at the moment.

And, at the sound of it, he was never _out there_, either. I still heard random noises and identifiable voices from the real world. Well, assuming that what I was in wasn't the real world and I didn't time travel and lose my mind. On the occasion, I heard Hermione or Neville, but never Draco. It was never Draco.

It was always Draco, wasn't it?

I spent all my free time in this freaky dimension distracting myself from the outer world with the memories of what happened years ago. It was like I didn't really want to find out or understand what had happened. In fact, I didn't. I was content being embarrassed by what I found in the recesses of my memories, and I no longer wanted to handle the emotions of real life. All of this was just a distraction—an excuse—keeping me from getting out of this eerie lifestyle. I kept telling myself I did not want to feel the things I felt from real life, that the things I felt now were perfectly good substitutes. The moments I was reliving were great, except for the part where I had reminisced about them multiple times before. The feeling I was getting now was more anticipated, rather than the alarming feeling we get just before we feel something. I missed feeling some things. I missed missing things.

I missed Draco.

It was always Draco, wasn't it?

_Draco was a sod. He managed to catch up with me before Moody's class, and was now currently telling me how—and he couldn't believe it either—excited he was for the test so that he could really put his knowledge about the three unforgivable curses down on paper. And then he would finally be taken seriously. "You know, Draco, you might be taken more seriously if you were so sarcastic all the time. Or mean."_

_ "You don't get anywhere in life by being _nice_, Emma. You get there by being direct." He rolled his eyes at me._

_ "Right, right. You get there by being directly not terrible to everyone you encounter that isn't in Slytherin."_

_ "You're not in Slytherin."_

_ I stumbled over the response I was going to have and ended up changing it around after stuttering for a few moments. "Y-yes, but—but I'm the only one you really talk to decently that isn't in Slytherin. There's a difference. One does not mean all."_

_ He shrugged. "I never said one meant all. Maybe Hogwarts should offer a debate class so you could actually formulate an argument."_

_ Angrily, I looked up at him. "I can hold my own just fine, thanks. I don't need anybody to validate my arguments or opinions."_

_ "I never said you needed somebody to do that," he nudged me with his elbow and gave me that horrible charming smile of his. "Come off it, Emma, class is starting." _

_ We ended up sitting next to each other, much to Ron's obvious dismay. Crabbe and Goyle managed to show up on time for this class (probably to do with the curses) and all of my friends were paired off with somebody else. Unfortunately, that left me with Draco. He would be giving me knowing looks and snide comments as well as making distasteful jokes throughout the class. Something I wasn't necessarily looking forward to. He already made a point in talking to me all about what was wrong in the class or what was fun in the class or even ideas for the class after class. Now, I would be experiencing it for an entire period, and not just the short amount of time I spent listening to him before I walked away for my next class. _

_ Dramatically (as I figured would be the proper adverb in every instance for Moody), the class began. He spent the first minute or so in a curt argument with Hermione, who slightly objected to being placed under the Imperius curse. I sat there with secondhand embarrassment as the people I had thought as friends were turned into mind-controlled beings hopping around the room or doing gymnastics. My stomach plummeted to my feet as I heard my name being called. I stood up as slowly as I felt was socially allowed, not wanting to do this. I didn't want to make a fool of myself, but I figured that there was no way I could resist such a powerful wizard like Moody. He raised his wand in my direction and_

_ Everything was fuzzy and wonderful and I felt like I was floating. There were no more worries about feeling things for Draco and how horrible it felt because it was like betraying all of my other friends. There were no more worries about that test that was going to happen next week, or the amount of homework due tonight. Then I heard his voice creep into the back of my mind, ringing uncomfortably throughout what felt like the empty spaces. _

_ Beyond my control, I felt my body move in ways that were similar to ballet. Was I doing ballet? What did it matter? I was in a good place right now…_

_ My face burned bright as I saw my classmates laughing at me. I wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed or not, since I had done the same thing to all of them…Draco was the next person to be called. "Have fun," I chided as he walked past me to the front of the room. I sat there in amusement as his sour-looking face was turned into one of dull bliss as Moody raised his wand. _

_ Moody opened his mouth and instructed Draco while he was under, "You are Harry Potter. You are Harry Potter. Act like Harry Potter." _

_ Draco slouched in his posture and rushed up to Ron and Hermione, shoving Harry as he went along. He stood in between the two and put his arms around their shoulders. "So, Hermione, I was thinking that there's this potions essay due—maybe you'd like to write it for me? Or at least help me out, that is." Hermione and Ron sat there petrified, not knowing how to react. After their momental shock, they shrugged his arms off of their bodies, leaving them to dangle by his sides. "And Ron, wizard's chess tonight, right? We all know you both can't deny me because I'm the Chosen One. You can tell by my fancy scar and messy hair." Harry sat behind the two, gaping at what he was seeing. "Not to mention the part where I can break all the rules and it's okay because I'm an orphan being chased by The Dark Lord. I can do anything I want and have no repercussions, and when I do get in trouble, I usually hold a grudge against that person until the punishment gets lifted by Dumbledore. Special treatment is the best." And with that conclusion, Moody's wand lowered and from behind you could see Draco's body slightly spasm with disgust at the thought of being so close to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. He turned around and went back to his seat, obviously appalled at what happened. _

_ He whispered to me (although it sounded more like a hiss), "What did I just _do_?" _

_ "Well, um…" There was no way to sugarcoat this or put it lightly. "You acted like Harry. And said some nasty things."_

_ His jaw dropped. "I sure hope I did—making me act like _Potter—_my father—the ministry—can't wait until this year is over." His sentences jumbled together, making for a very stunted and grammatically incorrect statement. He attempted to regain his composure, making for a very rigid sitting position. _

_ I felt compelled to comfort him, somehow. His hands were folded neatly on his desk, along with his knuckles nearly white from their grip. I placed my hands on top of his. "It wasn't that bad, you know. Really." Nobody was able to see me be this tender around him. These moments were better shared around the lake. Conveniently, we were in the back row. "It was a bit funny, actually."_

_ "Mortifying would be more like it. All you did was twirl around."_

_ I gave him a tiny smile. "Well hey, at least you won't be feeling the splits tomorrow."_

_ He let out a small chuckle. "That would be if Granger doesn't kick me after class."_

_ "Let's hope not." I let his hands have a small squeeze._

_ Silently, he unraveled his hands, grabbed mine, and let it rest in his lap for the rest of the period. Yes, it was always Draco._

* * *

><p><em> Class was let out, and Draco told me of the big news so that I wouldn't have to get crushed by the masses of people gathering in front of the notice in the Great Hall. "I wasn't supposed to share it with the likes of just <em>anyone_, but now that the notice is up, I better tell you to save yourself the trouble. The Triwizard Tournament is coming back."_

_ Confused, I looked up at him. "What's that?"_

_ "You don't know what that is? Come on, Emma, weren't you the one who spent all of her time buried in a book? Wait, that was Granger." He rolled his eyes as a response to the look I gave him. "Basically, two other schools get to come here to compete in dangerous trials. It hasn't happened in decades. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang are coming here. They're the other wizarding schools," he concluded, taking note of my blank stare. "Did you know I was actually supposed to go to Durmstrang? Hogwarts has gone to the dogs, but my mother didn't want me to go further away than I had to."_

_ "I'm glad you're here," I let myself say._

_ He looked down at me with a soft expression on his face before it turned to that of a cocky grin. "I know you are."_

_ "Whatever—do you know when they're coming?"_

_ "Next Friday at six. We're all supposed to come together and greet them all like one happy, dysfunctional family who hates each other."_

_ "I don't hate everyone," I stated._

_ He deadpanned. "You don't hate _anyone_." _

_ "That's not true. Do you know how terrible Pansy is to everybody?"_

_ "By all means, you should hate me, you know. But for some reason, you elect not to do so. I don't really understand you, Emma. I really don't."_

_ We walked in silence until we went our separate ways to get food. It was obvious that I liked him, and he knew it. For some reason, he chose not to call me out on it. People certainly did not get him enough credit, despite his usual prickness. It was always him._

* * *

><p><strong>There you have it! <strong>

**The next installment. Like I said before, you don't have to, but it'd be cool if you would comment :)**

**Have a great week!**

**-Amehhh**


	28. Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and Densaugeo

__**Hey guys! So here's the next bit!**

**Things are getting a little bit crazy with the whole school thing (oh and I also got a job at Subway so that's a thing).**

**Anyways, it would be really great if you would read and review!**

* * *

><p><em>It had been a week since Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived at Hogwarts. And, like the other girls here at school, I had fallen irrevocably in like with Viktor Krum. Oh yes, his genetics were certainly in the right places. The only person who wasn't affected was Hermione (although I think she secretly did have a thing for him). Not to mention, of course, how obvious it was that he was subtly more interested in her than anyone else. About time, I'd say. With Ron's frantic flailing emotions, it was time for to have someone admiring her. Then again, this wouldn't stop me from admiring Krum from afar. <em>

_ "He was in the Quidditch World Cup, wasn't he, Draco?"_

_ "Of course he was. You didn't hear Weasel-bee or Potter squeal about it? You were sitting right next to them. I figured you would have heard them." _

_ I rolled my eyes. "I would have been able to hear them had you not been squealing over Bagman and Crouch. Congrats. You're a class-act fanatic."_

_ He shrugged. "At least there won't be many Quidditch games this year."_

_ "Well, yeah. Wait, what?"_

_ "Now Potter won't cry as much because Krum will have beaten his sorry—"_

_ "Come on, Draco, stop that. Harry _is_ a great seeker, you can't deny that. It doesn't have to do with the fact that he's in Gryffindor. It has to do with his talent."_

_ "I must say I'm a little offended."_

_ "Oh," I smacked my hand upon my forehead, "You're right, I completely forgot." I wrapped my hands around Draco's arm. "You are so strong and such a good seeker, and oh, Draco, can I have your autograph now so that when you become famous I can either keep it or sell it for hundreds of galleons? You're so _dreamy_."_

_ He shook me off of him. "Very funny, Hughes."_

_ "You're just jealous," I stated._

_ "Of _what_?" He asked, gaping at me incredulously._

_ "Of Viktor Krum." I sat down in the Great Hall with my plate of lunch food and he followed suit. _

_ He let out a short laugh. "Are you serious?"_

_ "Sure I am." It was only a few minutes until Viktor Krum walked in with his group of friends, with his chin lifted slightly higher than normally, as though he was looking for someone. It had to be Hermione. "You know," I began, "He _is_ rather nice looking." I could feel myself slowly falling into daydream mode. "Gosh. He's so dreamy, isn't he?"_

_ "Well, if you like guys like him, I suppose," Draco spat. "I'm done with my meal." He sat his fork down onto his plate, with half of his food still unfinished. "I need to go to class, anyways." _

_ "Draco—you don't have a class at this time, do you? Look, was it because of Krum? Because as much as he is attractive, I don't have a shot. I'd like to, but I don't. Besides, I don't even know him. He's just…nice to look at."_

_ "Thanks for the pity party, but I really do have to go."_

_ I grabbed his hand as he was about to take his plate. "Is this about Krum? I mean, if it is, you could probably get Pansy to help you out in that department," I let a small grin out as he made an effort to laugh at my half-hearted joke. "But really, is it?"_

_ "Emma," he slowly drawled out, "You're my friend. We're really close. And I have hardly ever seen you slightly infatuated with someone. Chances are you're going to get hurt, and I'm going to have to pick up the pieces. And we both know that I don't want to do that. And, also, if somebody's going to be breaking your heart, it's not going to be some bloke from Durmstrang. I'd like to be able to see them every day until I graduate so that I can hex them as often as I could. I know you sometimes think that I don't have feelings or empathy or emotions, but I do. I just don't exactly know how to show them around Goyle or Crabbe. But you're different. I mean, part of it might be that, you know, you're a girl, but the other part is that you're, well, I hate to say it, but we're very close. And I wouldn't be able to feel okay if it was somebody else that broke your heart and not me, because let's face it: we all know that you want me."_

_ I let out a laugh. "Sod off, Draco. Get to your fake class. I'll see you around."_

* * *

><p><em> Pansy was taking her dear sweet time telling me about how stupid my SPEW pin was in some sort of an attempt to get a flare out of me. Hermione handed it to me, hoping that if I wore it then maybe people would think her idea wasn't so far-fetched. I had a feeling that just like everybody else, House Elves actually<em> enjoyed_ working for no money, and that Dobby was the odd one out. But, friendship comes with a price, and that price was apparently a free SPEW pin. And to think Potions Class looked more appealing than Pansy. "Look, Pansy. Can you just leave, please? I have better things to do than breathe the same air as you. It's less moldy-smelling when you're not around."_

_ Her eyes rolled as her hand approached my cloak and attached a Potter Stinks badge to it. "A parting gift," she smiled viciously and departed quickly. (Probably to find Draco, might I add). And, as it would have it, I ended up being right. She joined up next to Draco, across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They appeared to be in the middle of a verbal argument, which was quickly becoming heated. I had arrived just in time for the spells to be shot—_

_ Goyle's face was filling with pus-filled boils, and Hermione shrieked as her hand flew up to her mouth. A small panic flew up in the group as I ran up to Hermione and tried to figure out what had happened. "What happened, your hand, what..?" Ron eventually got her to remove her hand, revealing her front two teeth had grown down to her chin. _

_ All too soon, Snape walked up behind Draco, and with his voice drawled out, "And what is all this noise about?"_

_ A flurry of words sprung up in an effort to explain. The result was 50 points from Gryffindor and detentions for both Harry and Ron. Hermione ran from the corridor, trying to cover her teeth (which were now down to the collar of her shirt), and Crabbe escorted Goyle out, making their way to Madam Pomfrey's. _

_ I sat myself down next to Draco, seeing as now we were both without seating partners. I most certainly didn't want to, but of course, I always had to face him when I was angry with him. As Snape began to say something about antidotes, I harshly whispered, "Why did you do that?"_

_ "Do what?" He kept his face turned at Snape's, making a vague attempt to actually learn something. _

_ "Do that to Hermione's teeth—unbelievable is what that was."_

_ "I was aiming for Potter. I try not to get physically offensive when it comes to girls, if you haven't noticed. When it comes to that gender, I typically leave it to my words."_

_ "You're terrible. Absolutely terrible."_

_ "So stop talking to me."_

_ So I did. Or at least, I did until he started talking to me again. _

_ "Why is it that you always expect the worst from me? Do you _honestly_ think I would purposefully use a spell on Granger?"_

_ "I don't know, you seem keen to use spells on anyone that isn't Slytherin," I deadpanned._

_ "Have I used a spell on you?"_

_ "No," I said curtly._

_ "See? I haven't used a spell on you," he spoke as though it explained everything. _

_ "You're not friends with Hermione. You're friends with me. Of course you wouldn't use a spell on me. I'm not daft."_

_ "If you weren't, you wouldn't be so upset. It was obvious I was going for Potter."_

_ "Sure, fine, I believe you." I tried to pay attention to Snape as he was now criticizing Harry for having to leave for photos. Anything was better than listening to Draco at this point, even if it meant having to pay attention._

_ "I'll tell you what. The first tournament. Just you and me. I'll even buy you food. I won't even say anything too incredibly…'rude,' as you so call it."_

_ I rolled my eyes. "And why should I want to do this with you instead of my other friends?"_

_ "Because it'll be just you and me for that bit, just like the summer. It'll be fun."_

_ Well, that would do it. I agreed to go with him, on the terms that he wouldn't say anything mean about the contestants, and that he would make some form of apology to Hermione (even though all three of us would know that it was on my behalf, rather than his lack of emotions). I hated to say it, but I was excited for the first challenge. Rather exciting, wasn't it?_

* * *

><p><strong>Alright!<strong>

**How'd you like it? Hopefully everyone was in character. I've been super out of it lately, so hopefully I won't read this later and cringe, haha.**

**Anyways, have a great day (and if you wouldn't mind reviewing that would be really sweet of you~~~)**

**-Amehhh**


	29. The First Task

**Oh hello again! For once, it hasn't taken me two months to update! **

**Anyways, here's the next chapter, and I hope you all enjoy it! :)**

**(It'd be really awesome if you reviewed too)**

* * *

><p><em>When I walked into the common room, Harry and Hermione were sitting glumly at a table, watching items soar to Harry half-heartedly. They glanced up to register my presence, and went back to helping Harry practice a spell. "What's going on over here?" I asked, curious as to what specific spell they were using—anything that made it so I didn't have to move sounded like a good spell to me. <em>

_ "The Accio spell," Hermione began. "You concentrate on whatever object you want, and it's supposed to come to you. It's supposed to help with the task." _

_ Harry either didn't want to talk to me, or he was just exasperated at the spell. "Accio book!" From the shelf, a book flew towards us and hit me in the chest before I caught it._

_ "It seemed like that one worked," I tried to lighten the atmosphere with little to no avail. _

_ "It's still not good enough," Harry said, frustrated. "I need to get this down—soon—if I'm going to finish the first task." _

_ I opened to a page of the book, where it read Cruciatus. I skimmed indifferently over the section before responding, buying my time to think of the right words. _

Memory loss. Unconsciousness. Hallucinations.

_Closing the book and setting it down in one swift motion, I decided that I had the right words (or at least as close as I was going to get). "Harry, I think you'll do fine tomorrow. Really, I do. I'll be cheering for you tomorrow." _

_ "Why?" He almost let out a short laugh. "Aren't you going to ask me how I put my name in the fire or something?"_

_ I repeated his first question. "Why? Because everyone doesn't think that you don't already have enough on your plate. As if you would want to compete in three dangerous tasks when you have so much going on. I don't know what exactly happened, but your first and second years were really rough. Besides," I let a smile escape, "Why would you need to win fame at this point?" I started to go up the stairs so that I could go to bed, but stopped just before I stepped on the first step. "If I don't see you when the tournament begins, good luck."_

_ With one last look, he thanked me, and then returned to summoning objects towards his person._

* * *

><p><em> After climbing out of the portrait hole, I found Draco standing across the hallway, looking at me. "Is there any reason why those first years ran in looking slightly afraid?"<em>

_ He shrugged, then let a smile crack. "I couldn't just let everybody know that I was waiting for you."_

_ Draco stepped off from the wall and started walking down the stairs with me. "What a gentleman." _

_ "But of course, m'lady," he joked, offering his arm to me. I took it, following up with a comment about his _Potter Stinks_ badge. "You need to remember that Hogwarts has two champions."_

_ "I'm not rooting for Cedric, but I'm not parading around with a Diggory Stinks button, am I? All I'm saying is that it wouldn't hurt for you to be positive about the things you like, rather than negative about the things you dislike." I wrapped my scarf around me tighter, trying to keep warm as we stepped outside. _

_ As we got closer to the stadium, Draco took my hand and led me up the stairs to the middle row. We sat between a Durmstrang boy and a higher year Hogwarts boy, who ended up giving us a rather strange look. In response, Draco snidely asked, "And what are you looking at?" In turn, the boy raised his eyebrows and brought his attention back to the stadium. _

_ "Thank you for inviting me, Draco," I told him honestly. "It's nice spending time with you again. Just you and me. Sort of."_

_ He smiled in return. "Sure. It's nice to be around someone who has almost the same intellect." _

_ "I'm glad you know how I feel," I shot back at him with a grin._

_ A cannon shot off by the tent the champions were at for the time being. A dragon was brought out from—where had it come from anyways—how did I not notice that? Either way, it was tied down to the ground with a chain, when Cedric walked out, more cautiously than confidently. Hogwarts let out a gigantic cheer, convincing him to start with his first task. My hand found its way over to Draco's, and gripped it tightly. If Cedric was having this difficult of a time, I couldn't possibly imagine how Harry would do. I let out more shrieks than I was ever planning to do upon seeing it breathe fire. Draco was busy cheering him on, pumping his other fist in the air in show of support._

_ Finally, Cedric got hold of the golden egg, and I let out a sigh of release I didn't know I had been holding. I wished that Harry was next—then it wouldn't be a constant battle between my consciousness and my blood pressure. Unfortunately, my wish had not been granted—Fleur and Krum were next (whom I distractedly cheered for with respect and admiration). _

_ At last, Harry approached the stadium from the tent, and the cannon was set off once more. The crowd was a mixture of cheering and mean-spirited comments. At last, he began his task. For a good minute, the crowd murmured in confusion: he was just standing there, pointing his wand off in the distance. It took me a moment to catch on—everyone else did not much later when his Firebolt flew in from Hogwarts. _

_ Harry was up in an instant, and I curled myself into Draco, not wanting to watch the rest of the task unfold. He put an arm around me, and I looked back up in time to hear the crowd gasp, and to see Harry get smacked by the dragon's tail. Still, the dragon didn't move from where it was sitting. I sat there in near-shock, as I watched Harry fly around, what looked like specifically to annoy it. The dragon swung its tail, breathed fire, and at last, roared out in frustration. From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Draco look at me with an unreadable expression as his hand tightened on my shoulder. _

_ I had almost missed it, but Harry now carried the golden egg under his arm, and we were all cheering. The crowd stood up in a standing ovation, and Draco stood there, sullenly clapping at his survival. He landed next to the tent that he originally came from; where I assumed that some professors greeted him with congratulations. Sitting down, I felt a wave of relaxation wash over me. Draco replaced his arm around my shoulders and asked, "Are you okay?"_

_ Resting my head in my hands I responded, "Yes, yes, of course, I was just—really worried for a couple of those moments. I nearly thought the dragon would get him."_

_ "That's why they have professionals here, just in case. They wouldn't _actually_ let anything bad happen to him." Draco made an attempt to reassure me._

_ "I know; it just happened so quickly. Oh, look," I pointed to the sky, "they're giving out scores already." _

_ He ended up tying with Krum, and I felt pleased with those results. All I wanted to do now was get back to the common room and congratulate him on a job well done—I was positive I would not have been able to pull that off in a million years. If I was this relieved that the first task was over, I couldn't imagine the adrenaline Harry had pumping through his system. _

_ People started rising and leaving from their seats. "Come on," Draco nudged me, "I'll walk you back."_

* * *

><p><em> We all crowded around Harry as he held the golden egg in his lap. "Go on then," somebody said, "Open it." <em>

_ He let a boyish grin cover his face as he opened the egg. A shrieking noise was released, and our hands made it to our ears faster than Draco could think of an insult. Complaints rose from his audience, and Harry looked as though he was struggling to shut the egg. "Well," he let out a large breath. "That was unexpected."_

_ The crowd died down soon after, and everyone turned to their normal duties as a student._

* * *

><p><strong>Well, that was it! The first task completed, next task: Yule Ball!<strong>_  
><em>

**(and let me tell you, with a spoiler alert: drama~~~)**

**Anyways, it'd be awesome if you'd review and tell me what you think, like if Draco was prickish enough or something, haha.**

**I hope your week is going well!**

**-Amehhh**


	30. The Yule Ball

**Alright guys, are you ready for this?**

**This is the longest chapter by far, and I pretty much sat there and squealed about it the whole time I was writing it.**

**I won't distract you any longer. Next stop: The Yule Ball~**

* * *

><p><em>It was a strange sensation, sitting on the couch in the common room a week before Christmas. My family was back at home, enjoying themselves, and I was distant from them. Letters were being sent every day, but a lingering sadness occasionally washed over me, as I had not seen them since the first half of summer. I made a vague attempt to read the book that I was holding, but I kept getting distracted by the sporadic pops from the fire place. Eventually, I gave up and walked myself to the Great Hall so that I could eat. <em>

_ Draco seemed to have the same idea, as he was already sitting down at a table. Cautiously, I joined him, expecting Crabbe and Goyle to show up out of nowhere. "Where are your friends?" _

_ He shrugged. "Probably still sleeping. They don't really do much with their free time."  
>"They don't go walking around lakes, then?" I asked with a small smile. <em>

_ He let out a small laugh. "So tell me, Emma. Do you have a date for the ball?"_

_ "As a matter of fact, I do." _

It had been a long time since I thought of this conversation. But now that I was literally living in the moment, I spent more of my time watching Draco's reaction rather than trying to figure out what was going on or wanting to eat. His face was noticeably surprised for a quick moment, and returned to its usual prided smirk. Moments passed before I realized that I hadn't exactly endured the painful embarrassment of watching myself get asked out—it was so incredibly weird that this all focused on Draco and nothing else, really. It was starting to get a little bit creepy. But, we were halfway through the fourth year, so I figured that this wouldn't go on much longer. I hope.

_"Really, do you? What's his name, then?" Draco challenged._

_ "None of your business, actually. You'll see in a few days, anyways. Have you asked anyone?"_

_ He nodded his head, and regardless of the fact that I had a date, my heart sank a little. "I'm going with Pansy. She's crazy about me."_

_ "I thought you were going to stop after crazy. But that will be fun."_

_ "What's wrong with crazy? I'm talking to you aren't I?" He laughed._

_ I joined him. "Shut up." I let a smile escape. We stopped talking to finish our meals. In a few minutes time, I realized what hour it was. "I need to go, I'm helping my friend with her hair."_

_ "Few days early for that, isn't it?"_

_ I shrugged. "Well, we're just experimenting with different styles. I'll see you later, Draco," I raised my hand up to signal a wave._

_ "Sure, talk to you later."_

* * *

><p><em> Well, tonight was the night. Hermione had left a few minutes prior to find Viktor, leaving Parvati, Ginny, and I to wait for the few Gryffindors that were left in the tower. She was talking about Harry being her partner, but part of me wasn't really listening as I was wondering how Pansy Parkinson was going to look clinging off of Draco all night. I came back into the conversation when she mentioned having to dance with Harry and I did know how well of a dancer he was? I shook my head with a "No, I don't." Ginny shook her head as well, and looked a little peeved in response.<em>

_ After what seemed longer than it actually was, the group of Gryffindor boys came down from the stairs. Parvati walked up to Harry and Ron, and Neville shyly came up to Ginny. Through the small crowd, Dean and I met up and began talking to each other. Slowly, we made our way to the door, and Dean took my hand. "To be fair, I'm going to tell you now that I'm not that wonderful of a dancer."_

_ "To be fair, neither am I," I laughed. We followed the group to the entrance hall, in which upon seeing Fleur, Ron slightly ducked behind Harry in growing embarrassment. I craned my neck towards the stairway to the dungeons, in which a group of Slytherins was walking up, Draco and Pansy assuming the front. Our eyes met for a brief second as though we were in a cheesy romantic comedy (not that he'd know what that was), and we looked away as fast as we had seen each other. I hated to admit it, but Pansy looked very nice. I hated it. I hoped so dearly that she would look terrible. But she didn't. That just sucked._

_ To distract myself, I found Hermione standing by Viktor, chatting happily away with him. As soon as I had found her, Parvati and Harry were making their way towards them, preparing to eat whatever the menu laid out for them. Dean led me over to a small table where Padma and Ron were sitting, and we engaged in small talk, occasionally making a bit of fun at Ron who was gloomily looking at Hermione. I tried to get Padma to join in the conversation, be she also seemed to be a bit unhappy. We shrugged it off, and continued to talk of our winter breaks so far, and of Christmas gifts._

_ We became quiet as The Weird Sisters began to play in the background. All attention was focused on the champions now, and Harry seemed to be extremely uncomfortable with this. Seamus sat down next to Dean, and the two of them sniggered at Harry's expense. Slowly, more couples joined the dance floor, no longer allowing the champions to take up all of the attention. The teachers all started to dance with each other, as well. It was certainly a sight to see Dumbledore dancing with Professor Sprout. Snape, on the otherhand, lurked as though he was more of a chaperone than an attendant. Dean stood up and offered his hand to me. "Would you like to dance?"_

_ "Of course," I smiled as he led me to the dance floor. His hands found my waist and my hands rested themselves upon his shoulders. I had never danced with anyone before, and I found my heart beating erratically. Dean and I followed what everybody else was doing—either way, we were having an easier time than Harry and Parvati. _

_ Harry led Parvati off of the dance floor as soon as the song ended, and we decided to let them deal with Ron and Padma for the moment, as we attempted to dance to the up-tempo song. I had never thought dances could be so fun—Ginny looked as though she was having a good time, when her feet weren't getting stepped on, that is. Even Percy—wait, Percy? I shook my head, ignoring the reason why he was here. I'd have to ask Ron about it later when he wasn't in such a foul mood. _

_ Thankfully, a slow song played after that fast one. It was a good thing, too, Dean and I were certainly not prepared for this level of dancing. Rather, for me, the physical exertion. We started to find our rhythm with the beat when a hand landed on Dean's arm. We both spun around to see that it was Draco who broke us apart. "Would you mind if I cut in?"_

_ "Actually, yes, I would. Don't you have your own date, Malfoy?" Dean nearly spat. _

_ "Why don't we let Emma decide who she wants to dance with?" Oh, great, thanks Draco. Way to put me in the middle of you two. Stellar friendship, right there. But, still…_

_ I shrugged awkwardly, trying to defuse the situation. I looked to Dean, "It'll be just one dance…I'll be back before you know it."_

_ Dean glared at Draco. "One dance." He squeezed my hand as he started to walk away. "I'll be by the punch."_

_ "Alright," I told him. As quickly as Draco had cut in, he began to slowly spin me around the room. _

_ I rested my head upon his chest, knowing that I would rarely get another moment like this again. We had the advantage of the crowd—nobody could really tell who was who between the English, Bulgarian, and French. "How did you get to be so good of a dancer?" _

_ "You don't live in high class society without learning a few things," he laughed. I could feel the vibrations of his voice through his chest, and I remembered what it was like to be this close to him. "You look lovely tonight."_

_ "Thank you. You look pretty handsome yourself," I mentioned. _

_ We both let the conversation fall. On my behalf, I just wanted to revel in this moment for as long as I could before I returned to Dean. As much as I liked him, he wasn't Draco. We danced for a little while longer until I felt Draco shift. I looked up at him to find that he was looking down at me. His eyes glanced down to my lips and I felt my mouth run dry. As though he was unsure of himself, he slowly placed a hand on my face and I felt his warm breath linger until he placed his lips on top of mine. I closed my eyes after the initial shock of the kiss and let myself fall into him. His other hand moved to the small of my back, and pushed me a little bit closer to him as he released his first kiss and planted another. Our noses awkwardly collided until I tilted my head to give it leeway. I was able to fully comprehend what was happening now, and I felt my body move closer and I moved one of my hands to his hair, letting it lightly grip it. When we needed air, we both made a move to pull away, and I noticed the hand on my face was shaking. We giggled a little bit, trembling with excitement. He pulled me back into him and we resumed dancing, letting our hearts get back on track before we started a conversation. He kissed my forehead and I allowed myself to smile as I looked up at him with delight._

_ As I was about to ask where Pansy was, nervous that she had seen what happened, she made her own entrance. "Draco," she began with the air of drama around her. We pulled apart and looked at her. "_What_ are you doing dancing with _her_?"_

_ "Doing just that," Draco deadpanned. "I happen to like dancing with Emma." His hand remained around my waist, and I felt his grip tighten._

_ She crossed her arms and her tone changed from accusing to nonchalant. "I suppose that's fine. That is, if you like dancing with a _mudblood._"_

_ If my heart sped up any faster, I'd be a victim to cardiac arrest. It would have been a better fate than the one I was up against right now. The students nearest to us formed a stunned circle around us, staring at what was happening in front of them. Oh god. Oh, _god.

_ Draco turned to look at me. His hand fell from my waist. "You're a—a—"_

_ "A mudblood? Yeah, I am, thanks for sharing that, Pansy." My voice shook with nervousness._

_ Pansy let out a curt laugh. "You didn't know that, Draco? I'm sorry it has to be this way, but you had to find out somehow. I'm surprised you didn't figure it out. I thought you were just taking pity on her."_

_ "You—she…You never told me. Why didn't you tell me?" His voice waivered, his eyes were narrowed, and his whole body rang out with misplaced trust and judgement._

_ I shrugged, trying to stop my eyes from watering. "I didn't think it was important? It…never came up in conversation? I don't know what to tell you. I'm just going to…go, now. It was fun. I'll see you around." I left before I let the tears fall from my eyes. I pushed my way through the crowd, trying to make it to a less crowded area. All I had to do was make it to the common room and then to the bedroom, and then maybe I wouldn't have to ever leave and show my face around here again. I took off my heels so that I could walk up the stairs faster, despite the chill it placed on my feet. _

_ Could I have been any more stupid? To think that if I avoided the basic facts of this culture that we could have worked out? Why did I even think that anything could happen between us? It was all _stupid_. So, so, stupid. I didn't want to show my face around this school again. I wanted to go home and leave and attend public school and try to catch up on everything I missed so long as it meant that I would never have to see him again. Dumbledore would have to understand—I was stupid, so _stupid_! _

_ I heard my name be called out from down the hall. I turned around, facing Draco. As soon as he caught up to me, I kept walking, wanting to get to my bed as fast as I could. "Emma, are you even going to talk to me?"_

_ That did it—tears overflowed and fell down my face. "What could I possibly talk to you about? I'm a muggle-born, a mudblood, how often do I have to tell you?" From the few words I said, my throat started to close and burn as the sadness grew. _

_ "Yes, I understand that, thanks, I think I get the picture."_

_ "Then _why_ are you following me?" My voice sounded as though it was a little strangled._

_ "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you just lead me on for four years?" His voice took a turn for the worse, though. It sounded more vicious. As though he was talking to Hughes rather than Emma. _

_ "Because I didn't think it would matter. Because I didn't think it should matter. Because I thought that maybe if we knew each other well enough, I could tell you, and you would understand and think the better of it because we'd already be really, really good friends. I don't know, okay? You never asked so I never told you. I didn't think I had to define our friendship by how I was born." I was ranting, but I didn't care. I wanted him to leave. I wanted him to stay. "I figured that maybe if you thought that I was still a good person despite who my parents were, that maybe you could forgive other people for being that way, too."_

_ "Emma—will you stop trying to walk away?" His voice grew louder in volume and I was compelled to turn around. "Why didn't you tell me?"_

_ "I already told yo—" I let a sob escape._

_ "I want you to tell me the truth!" He shouted at me. _

_ I was stunned into silence. I didn't know what to say, so I figured that I should tell him the truth. I ended up whispering, for my voice began to run hoarse. "I was afraid that you'd hate me."_

_ His eyes looked frantically into mine, and his face held an expression of near-disgust. He walked off without saying a word._

_ When I whispered the password, I'm fairly sure that the Fat Lady didn't actually hear what I said but let me in anyways. Climbing the stairs to my room, I took the pins out of my hair with a fitful anger. I sat myself down on my bed and brought my face into my hands. Sobs came out but tears didn't fall. I hated everything._

I didn't follow myself into the common room. I didn't want to hear myself having fits, so I remained in the corridor, waiting for the next time skip to happen. I listened closely to the noises surrounding me. Draco's footsteps weren't the only ones falling. A deep voice erupted into the hallway. "Mister Malfoy…" Two words, and I could immediately tell that Snape was the owner. Oh my god. Snape was there too? And I thought this night couldn't get any worse.

Snape continued. "There is something you should consider, and I hope you will use the information wisely. Years ago, there was a boy and a girl. Her name was Lily."

* * *

><p><strong>fjal;eiojalsdkfj why is snape so hard to write for even one sentence<strong>

**But. There you have it. I_ did_ say drama, didn't I? :) **

**It would be really great if you could all flail and spazz in a review, I'd love to see your reactions, haha!**

**Have a good day, you guys!**

**-Amehhh**


	31. The Second Task

**Oh god, that was a really long wait for an update. But anyways, I'm back, and even though I've probably promised this before, I promise to all of you that I will not let this story go unfinished! Anyways, it took me a while to get things back on track, but hopefully this is a decent enough chapter to please you all! :)**

**It would be great if you could read and review!**

* * *

><p>It was in Potion's class after winter break when I finally spoke to him again. I remember it taking a lot of courage, but then I also remembered that he deserved to be yelled at. Or maybe I just really wanted or needed to talk to him. That part I'm not so sure about.<p>

_ It was good that he was sitting in front of me today. I crumpled up pieces of paper and threw them at the back of his head until he turned around. _

_ "What is it now that you could possibly want, Hughes?" He drawled, making nearly unbearable eye contact with me._

_ I tossed him the article. "Your bruised arm was due to your own stupidity, not Buckbeak's, nor Hagrid's. You could cost him his job. You're awful."_

_ Draco rolled his eyes. "Save it, Potty's already given me a talk about it. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if the oaf lost his job, if you asked me. There are more competent qualifiers." Dramatic as always, Snape walked in the room, with his cloak billowing behind him. He gave some sort of pointed look to Draco and returned looking like his normal brooding self. "Let's finish this conversation after class. How about some lunch, does that sound good?"_

_ "And just what are you getting at? Did Peeves come up with a rhyme for mudblood?"_

_ An offended look dawned on Draco's face. "I'm just hungry, you don't have to accept the invitation."_

_ Begrudgingly, I accepted._

* * *

><p><em> I felt rather on edge around him, in the Great Hall, getting lunch. Especially after what had happened at the Yule Ball. It was like I had to watch all of my movements, keep myself guarded—just in case Pansy showed up or if Draco had something up his sleeve.<em>

_ "Are you going to get a pumpkin pasty?" Draco asked me, holding one up._

_ Lost in my thoughts, I dumbly responded, "What?"_

_ "Pumpkin pasty. I thought I'd seen you grab some every now and then. Thought you liked them."_

_ "I do. Sure, I'll have one." I placed it on my plate, and followed him to a table. "I hate to ask it, but—what are you up to? Why are you acting like everything is normal?"_

_ He glanced at me, and swallowed what he was chewing. "Why shouldn't I?"_

_ I angrily set my pumpkin pasty down. "Because of what happened at the Yule Ball. Because this is the first time we've spoken in days. Because _everybody _knows that I'm a _mudblood_—not that it's a big deal—but to you I thought it might change the way you look at me. I mean, considering that you're pureblood and seem to have a vendetta against anyone who isn't the same way."_

_ Draco thought out his words carefully. "That's all true." He looked up as Snape billowed in, joining other professors at the front table. _

_ "Yes, thank you for reaffirming what I just said. You hate mudbloods. You hate Gryffindors. I'm both. Why me? Why am I different?"_

_ "You just are. I have my reasons."_

_ I rolled my eyes. Of _course_. "Give me one good reason to not walk out of this room."_

_ He scoffed. "Well, I _was_ going to invite you to sit with me during the second task in a few days, but if you walk off, I might not get the chance to offer."_

_ "Why should I accept? For all I know, Pansy might make another rude reappearance."_

_ "But it also might make things a little bit more normal. Let's just forget about the Yule Ball. All of it. Things will be back to normal before you know it."_

_ "Fine, I'll meet you outside of wherever the stadium is this time." As I sat there eating my food, a wave of sadness flooded over me. Forget the Yule Ball. All of it. As if there's a chance of that. What, with the kiss and all. And Pansy. And everything else. How was I supposed to repress it into the furthest recesses of my mind? Even though I didn't know, I suppose I'd have to try._

* * *

><p><em> "Glad to see you could make it, Emma." He lifted himself off the wall he was leaning on.<em>

_ "Same," I said, pulling at my scarf. "Sorry it took so long, it took a while to put all these layers on. It's really cold out. Do you know what the task is?"_

_ He shrugged as we walked in. "From some things I've heard, something that the contestants hold dear are underwater, and in an hour, they must retrieve it."_

_ "Underwater? That sounds awful. I'm glad we're up where it's, well, kindof dry." I looked up at the sky, which was threatening to rain. _

_ Draco, somehow using his air of superiority shoved our way up to the front, where we had a full view of the lake. All four contestants walked out, looking awfully cold in their swimsuits. Harry looked rather uncomfortable, unsure of what it was that he was supposed to be doing. The crowd burst out into cheers, and my voice went out to Harry. Draco gave me a pointed look, cheered for Krum, and the canon went off. It looked as though Harry shoved something into his mouth, but from this distance it was indiscernible. The four contestants waded out into the dropoff point, at which they were no longer visible. _

_ "Well…" I paused. "What now?" Draco shrugged, and we sat down on the wet sand. "Wait. Where's Ron and Hermione?" _

_ Draco looked at me. "They're probably what Harry holds dear the most."_

_ Anxiety grew inside of me, and I tried to calm down so that I didn't feel compelled to go into the lake after them. The hour passed by as easily as it could: the two of us talked as though everything was normal again. Well, whatever normal was. As I laid my head on Draco's lap, some of my worries were put to rest when I saw Pansy being annoyed by Crabbe and Goyle. I was about to fall asleep as water began to lick our feet when Cedric's head bursted out of the water. Hufflepuff—and most of Hogwarts—screamed in approval and gratitude that whatever was in the water didn't kill him or Cho Chang. Fleur had already reappeared earlier, resting on the beach with a worried look on her face. Krum had been the next to reappear, carrying a rather startled Hermione onto the beach. And so, that left Harry. I sat up next to Draco, looking around the lake. _

_ "Do you think he's okay?" I asked Draco, anxious._

_ "Probably is, to be honest. I mean, this _is_ Potter we're talking about. And if not, Dumbledore will always save him," he said with disgust. _

_ I rolled my eyes. "And since when has Dumbledore actually saved Harry?"_

_ He shrugged. "Even if he hasn't, if his precious Potter is in danger, he'll always be on the lookout."_

_ "Still have a grudge about the house cup in first year?"_

_ "Only because it's obvious that Slytherin won fair and square. But that's beside the point: there's your precious Potter," he pointed out to the middle of the lake, where Harry was attempting to swim not only with Ron, but with what looked like Fleur's little sister also. Hogwarts burst into a cheer, obviously relieved that he was alright. _

_ After hearing Dumbledore screech in Mermish for a few moments and talking to the judges, a decision was made. Harry was now in second with Cedric._

_ "Always Dumbledore's favorite," Draco shook his head. "Come on, let's leave before everyone else tries to." He grabbed my arm and led me through the crowd once more._

* * *

><p><strong>Alrighty, how was it? Good? Could be better? It'd be awesome if you could leave a review and let me know what your thoughts are-I'd love to hear them! Thanks for sticking with me all this time, haha.<strong>

**-Amehhh**


	32. The Final Task

**I swear to God. I will not give up on this story. You have all been extremely patient with me, and for that, I thank you. :)**

**I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>By now, it had been a couple months since the last task, and the final one was creeping up rather quickly: in fact, it was today. To my pleasure, I had once again transported to the future, but without feeling nauseous. It was certainly a feeling one could get used to. I was walking around the stadium, waiting for the crowds to get here. It was just as I remembered it. The stadium was so calm and untainted by the awful events that had occurred.<p>

I watched everybody's faces, enjoying their happiness and glee before the turn of events settled into a line of tumultuous actions that fell into our last two years at Hogwarts. Umbridge, the rules, the ministry, the fearsome wait in the Gryffindor common room as Harry and company remained missing for more hours than we expected. The rise of Voldemort, the rise of anxiety that creeped into our personal lives as everybody started to change and shape themselves into the situations that filled the space around them.

But for now, I was content with watching faces.

_ I sat next to Draco, a short distance away from Crabbe and Goyle (but not so far that they couldn't be used as back-ups, as Draco had said—or human shields, I retorted). It was late June, and I resorted to wearing lighter summer clothes rather than my typical scarf and sweater. Silently, I was hoping Draco would make some sort of comment, but none had been made. _

_ On the otherhand, I thought better of it,willing to trade a comment on my appearance for the public privacy we had, sitting in a mixture of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students. It could be said that we were forced to sit next to each other as victims of circumstance in the midst of hundreds. After four years, it was still hard for everyone to believe that we had a relationship not based on hatred and petty house rivalries. Those thoughts struck a small, sad cord in my heart and I linked arms with Draco, leaning into him a tad._

_ "Cold, Emma?"_

_ "Sure," I smiled, "let's go with that." A momentary thought of panic rose on me, calling me out on being too obviously flirtatious, so my next plan of action was to laugh a little bit and nudge him with my elbow. _

_ The four champions walked out before the huge hedge-maze, waiting for Bagman to give the signal. After brief announcements, Harry and Cedric were let into the maze earlier than Krum and Fleur, and the audience went wild. At least, Hogwarts did. There were many long minutes of waiting anxiously before any sort of sign that there was still life in the maze. Two ear-splitting screams, one about five minutes before the other. The first must have been Fleur. I gripped Draco's hand, and wiped an eyeful of tears on my shoulder before it got out of hand._

_ "You're crying," he stated. _

_ "Good observation," I responded curtly, wanting to leave the arena. _

_ "Why?"_

_ I whipped my head around to face him, my mouth open and agape. "_Why?" _It took me a moment to really gather my thoughts. "Because we have no idea what's happening to them—they could be dying out there and none of us could know it. They might not even have a chance of casting red sparks if it happened that quickly—and—why…would they make anybody go through with something with such uncertainty and how is this right? How is it right to send teenagers into a game of fame and glory with knowing that they may as well die in the process?"_

_ Draco looked as though he was in a mixture of annoyance and truly listening to what I had to say. "Well," he started off. "They knew that that was a potential side effect of getting chosen. It wasn't like they were chosen against their will—they put their own name in the Goblet of Fire fully knowing that this might be their fate."_

_ "But why would any of the headmasters allow such a thing?"_

_ "I don't know," he shrugged. "But everything will be okay. You'll see." He took his hand from mine and wrapped it around my shoulder._

_ We waited. And waited. And waited. Surely, an hour had passed, and the stars and moon were now helping us gather light to see the dim edges of the maze. Nobody had shot up any red sparks, and no more noises escaped from the hedges. _

_ It was all very sudden: Harry and Cedric appeared before the audience, shocking everybody momentarily before they broke out in screams and applauses. _

_ "Draco," I whispered, tears falling down my face. "Draco, he's dead—Cedric is dead!" My hand flew to cover my mouth, trying to stop the wails and moans that I knew would try to take leave. _

Draco's face remained neutral (though I think he would rather I use the word stoic). He didn't look very much phased by it, as though he were almost expecting something along these lines to happen. I knew his family was caught up in some nasty stuff many years ago, but I didn't know just how much they were into currently. I tried not to think of it.

_"It'll be fine," he murmured, though I wasn't sure if it was for me or him. He lowered his arm from my shoulder and wrapped me into a hug that covered my shaking body. He rubbed my back which was starting to ache from sitting on the wooden seats for so long as he watched Harry exit the stadium with Moody. I didn't know how long we had been sitting there, listening to the disarray appearing. "Come on, Emma," he spoke comfortingly as he helped me up. "Let's get you out of here." He helped me down the steps quickly using the excuse of wanting to beat the crowd, but really, I think part of it was that he knew that Cedric's parents didn't need any more eyes prying at the scene that unfolded. I think the_ _other part of it was that he knew that I needed to be alone, away from the excited audience and away from the grieving family. _

_ He walked me to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, standing a few paces to the side so as to not be looked upon by the painted lady. "I would go in there with you, but I don't think anybody would appreciate it when they returned. It would make for an odd sight and an awkward situation." I tried to give a smile as a response, but to no avail. "Hey," Draco mumbled, "look at me." He grasped the bottom of my chin so that he could look at my face. "I know you think I'm being a bit uncaring about this whole ordeal. I am. I don't care about Diggory. I don't know him. I didn't even really like him, to be blunt. But I do care about you. And I know this is affecting you. You are going to be okay, Emma. You really are." And that was when he pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "Goodnight, Emma."_

* * *

><p><strong>I'm really hoping I captured everything as well as I possible could have. I'd truly like to hear your thoughts now that the rest of this is going to get darker! <strong>

**Once again I'm so sorry that I made you all wait for so long but you are all patient and wonderful and pretty much the best ever!**

**I hope you have a great summer/school year, and hopefully I'll update much quicker this time :)**

**-Amehhh**


	33. Fifth Year

**wowee wow fall term is over **

**you know what that means~~~**

* * *

><p>The summer flew by quickly. I watched myself invite Draco to my house for a few weeks, and I watched myself swallow down a horrendous stomach-ache afterwards. Maybe it was lucky, maybe it wasn't, but he ended up saying no. Something about his father, which didn't really surprise me. Looking back on it, I think it was a good thing. After all, there would be culture shock on his part. Lots of it. It also saved me second-hand embarrassment, as well as his harsh words of critique. But I think if I had showed him my neighborhood, and my favorite café, we might have had something like we did on the lake all those years ago. It also saved me from my old friend's jealousy, had they seen me with this attractive blonde boy, sharing hands and drinking coffee. It must have been a good thing that we couldn't see each other for those two and a half months. Especially with what happened to Cedric.<p>

I later found out that Draco became a prefect. He smugly wrote to me, explaining his new position, how proud his father was of him, and how he would most certainly make Potter pay. This of course, wasn't mentioning the snide comment of me not becoming a prefect. I smoothly replied that I had neither the time nor energy to do such things, nor did I want to have the time or energy to do such things. I don't think he believed me. Instead of arguing with him, I simply let him gloat and bask in his glory. It made him happy, and I couldn't find anything wrong with that. In fact, I remember waiting for school to start so that I could see his smile. Memories weren't enough for me.

Hogwarts had changed, and it certainly wasn't due to Draco's new privilege. We had gained a new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which, then again, was expected. Unfortunately, the new professor Umbridge had destroyed any love I had ever had for the color pink, and shattered any respect I might have had for her on the first day. It was unorthodox, her teaching style. Not to mention her obvious erasure of Voldemort. To completely ignore the facts about his return from the one person who could prove the evidence with Cedric Diggory's cold body was blasphemous. I don't even know if that made sense. But then again, Umbridge didn't make sense. Nothing about her, nor her decrees made any sense. I crossed my arms, disappointed with the situation we had all dealt with in our fifth year.

I realized where I stood: in the bleachers on the Quidditch field. I saw flurries of red and gold down at the bottom, and I assumed that today was the day of try-outs. I saw myself sit down next to Draco, who was evidently there to heckle.

_"Hey," I sat down next to Draco, making myself comfortable. And maybe sitting a little bit too close to be normal. _

_ "Hey," he replied, intently focusing on a piece of parchment on his lap. _

_ Pulling my scarf tighter around my neck, I asked, "What're you doing here? You do realize that this is Gryffindor and not Slytherin, right? Or, are you lingering here in hopes of having a conversation with me?" _

_ "Well," a smile appeared on his face, "you're right. I was indeed lingering here, vastly hoping that you would show up and bestow upon me your graceful words. And now, that we have had a conversation, I must go." He scooted a few seats down._

_ I followed him. "Nice try," I nudged him. _

_ "That it was, Hughes, that it was. You know, if you're too much of a bother and continue distracting me, I'll have to deduct points for your misconduct." He deadpanned, staring into my eyes. We both looked at each other before cracking a grin._

_ "Right. Something's gotten you into a curiously good mood. What gives?" _

_ He gave a small shake to the parchment he was holding so that it was taut. "I'm writing a song."_

_ My heart fluttered a little bit, and I tried to deter the small blush creeping up my face with a cough. I was an embarrassment to myself, to fall under such romantic influence. Still, I couldn't help but to hope that the song was romantic—and also maybe that it was dedicated to me._

_ "Do you want to hear it?"_

_ "Sure." I hoped I didn't sound too eager._

_ He cleared his throat after explaining that he would not, under any circumstances, sing it: "Weasley cannot save a thing, / He cannot block a single ring, / That's why Slytherins all sing: / Weasley is our King." He ceased singing to look at me. "It's a work in progress, and I only have the first stanza, but what do you think? Catchy, huh?"_

_ I vacantly stared at him. "Are you serious?"_

_ "Very," he retorted. "I'm saving it for Gryffindor's first game. Now, don't tell me that I don't know that Weasley will make the team—it's obvious that he will, since his brothers and _Potter_ are on it."_

_ I raised my hands up in the air in a defensive position and shook my head. "I literally. I don't." What I had thought to be a potentially cute gesture had turned into a grotesque, unappealing action. "You're awful, I hope you realize that."_

_ "And why is that? Because I do something you don't like? I'm allowed to have a life outside of you, Hughes." He sat up straight, preparing himself for a fight._

_ I crossed my arms and glanced across the stands to make sure Hermione was still attending the try-outs. "Actually, because you're emotionally abusive to anybody you don't deem worthy of your friendship. And if this is what your friendship feels like, I'd hate to be on the other end." I shrugged, trying to be cool and nonchalant, but stalked off angrily to the other side of the field._

_ "Hello," I greeted Hermione as I sat down next to her. "How has Ron been doing? I've been a bit distracted."_

_ "He's up against two others, but I think he's in good standing. What did he do?" It was obvious that she meant Draco._

_ Shaking my head, I replied, "I'm livid with him right now. I'll talk to you later about it once I can form the words. I know that I'm the only one from Gryffindor who likes him, or rather, tolerates him," I chose my words slowly, "but I just don't get why he has to make it so easy to be angry with him."_

_ "You know what I'm going to say," Hermione gave me a pointed look, a small knowing smile with the tiniest twinkling of disappointment in her eyes._

_ "I know." I shouldn't be hanging out with him, much less talking to him, anyways. That I shouldn't let what he says get to me, because I'm better than him in terms of ethics and morals. I turned to face Ron, whose rings he was defending were on our left. I glanced, once again, across the field to Draco. I wasn't sure, but it seemed as though he was doing the same to me._

* * *

><p><strong>omg okay so once again apologies for being gone for so long<strong>

**but now that it is winter break i shall hopefully have time to write more chapters for a steadier updating system**

**it would really mean a lot to me if you reviewed as well but there is no obligation omg**

**-Amehhh**


	34. The Meeting and the 24th Decree

**Whoa, what's this? An update?**

**Surprise, surprise, school is almost out and I am looking forward to a lot of free time.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>I found myself next in the Hog's Head, sitting next to Neville and across from Harry. Hermione had told me about a meeting with a couple people, yet it ended up being quite a handful. Harry looked agitated and nervous, but I was delighted to hear his speech again. This was one of my better memories—being surrounded by my friends, starting a small-scale secret rebellion. It was thrilling, and I was glad to be a part of it once more in my life.<p>

As Hermione began to speak for Harry, I felt a wave of warmth fill the room, and I knew that somebody put a blanket over me—over my real body. The more time that I passed, the more I was able to feel and understand from the outside world. I tried to move my fingers and open my eyes, but my efforts only led to an excruciating pain in my shoulder. Though it was more prominent and persistent in my shoulder, I could sense the pain and dull ache everywhere in this ghost world. I decided that I would let my memories take me further before I tried to move again.

_Fred handed me a butterbeer, and I gave him a sickle in return. I sat down next to Neville and across from Harry, and tried to give both of them encouraging smiles. I listened intently as Hermione described her mission for this group, and to Harry as he had to explain to Zacharias Smith his feelings toward Cedric Diggory and his murder. After that episode, Hermione and the group had begun to discuss times and meeting places, and she brought out a piece of parchment and unrolled it. It felt like some sort of contract, but it was well worth it. I was one of the first to sign it, right after Neville. There wasn't much left to discuss, as Hermione had mentioned that she would find the perfect day for us all, so I left with both Dean and Neville. _

_ "I'm really quite excited," I noted. "It's about time we learn something for ourselves, without Umbridge hovering over us."_

_ Dean agreed with me. "I just want to see my Patronus. I want to know what it'll be—what about you guys?"_

_ Neville shrugged, but with a smile on his face. "I'm just glad this isn't for a grade—I don't want the stress of having to perform in front of everyone including a teacher. I wonder where it'll be, though."_

_ "Wouldn't it be great if we just did it in the Defense room at night with nobody knowing? I bet that would really grind her gears—Umbridge wouldn't even know it was happening." _

_ We laughed and continued walking back to Hogwarts, where the lady in pink awaited our return._

_ I stood next to Dean and George, appalled at Umbridge's next education decree—the twenty-fourth, to be exact. I took a deep breath reading the decree, gliding down the words which read that groups, clubs, and teams were not permitted unless under her permission. Without her permission, everyone else would be expelled. George was shaking his head, and looked as though he was going to spew some vile words towards our High Inquisitor. He stalked off, probably to find Fred. _

_ I turned to Dean. "You don't think she knows, do you?"_

_ "She couldn't. There's no way."_

_ "You're right. Hermione would have known to do something. And if she did, then we'll know it too."_

_ "Do you enjoy speaking in riddles?" He smiled, then patted me on the back. "Come on, let's go get some pumpkin pasties."_

_ "You always know what I like."_

_ "Comfort food?"_

_ "Comfort food."_

* * *

><p><em> I talked to them between mouthfuls of food a few days later. "She was probably upset about Quidditch taking away from our studying time. I mean, with having fun and all. You know." <em>

_ George shrugged. "We'll just have to appeal to her somehow, though it's doubtful. I bet," he leaned in and whispered, "that if she joined the DA and learned how to make a patronus—it'd be a Dementor." He leaned back, satisfied, as we all broke into grins and laughs. He looked up sharply as Angelina rushed up to us._

_ "George—I've got permission! We're going to reform the Quidditch team—I talked to McGonagall and I think she may have talked to Dumbledore so Umbridge had to give in!" George looked ecstatic. "I need you to be at the pitch at seven tonight. We need to make up for lost time—the first match is in three weeks—I need to tell some others. See you there!" Angelina ran away as quickly as she came._

_ Dean stood up. "That's my cue. Gotta get there early to practice, before everyone else."_

_ "I didn't know you were on the team," I furrowed my brow in confusion._

_ He smiled. "I'm not. I'm trying to set up a good impression for next year. I figure if I'm almost always there practicing before they are, then they'll see that I'm serious about it. I'll be ready for try-outs next year when they come. See you later," he waved and left George and I alone. _

_ George and I carried on our conversation, mostly about his life as an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, the conversation took a sour turn as he told me about the boils which had settled in private places. As he left, he slapped me on the back, saying he had to work on homework now that Quidditch was back on. As he headed back to the tower, Draco sauntered up to me, giving Gerge a pointed look._

_ "What's he so happy about?" Draco scowled, looking back in his direction as he sat down across from me. _

_ "Angelina got our Quidditch team back," I told him, picking up my food again._

_ "It took them long enough. We got ours the day after she set up the decree."_

_ I smiled shrewdly. "Aren't you just lucky, then? Besides, I'm not on a team, so I guess I'm just happy for their sake."_

_ He leaned forward and placed his head on his hands. "Who are you going to root for? Slytherin or Gryffindor?"_

_ "I would think that the answer is kindof obvious."_

_ "So me, then," he joked, smiling sarcastically. "The match is in three weeks. I think that's enough time to finish this song, don't you think?" He took his _Weasley is Our King_ parchment out of his robes and set it on the table._

_ I rolled my eyes. "That's just so disrespectful," I scoffed._

_ "It's politics."_

_ "It's a game." _

_ He looked offended. "Well, when Slytherin wins, and we have women flocking to us, I don't think it'll just be a game."_

_ "Here," I offered him a pumpkin pastie. "Stop talking."_

_ He shrugged and accepted it. "Whatever you say. Do you want to make a bet on who will win?"_

_ I sighed loudly and dramatically. "It is a game. I don't really mind who wins."_

_ "Well, if you do want to start taking bets, I suggest laying down your galleons for Slytherin. We're usually the most reliable. And the best, but, that's besides the point."_

_ "Oh yeah?" I grinned. It was nice to have him joke around with me. I was becoming tired with all the drama between the two houses as of late, with the curriculum war between Dumbledore and Umbridge._

_ "Yeah," he replied. "I'll see you around, Emma. There are more important people out there who need me."_

_ "And who could possibly be more important than me?" I feigned hurt and disappointment._

_ He gripped my shoulder and looked upon me sadly. "Absolutely everyone." _

_ We simultaneously broke into a grin. "I'll see you later, Draco."_

_ "Bye, Emma." I really liked it when he said my name. I buried my face in my hands, trying to hide my blushing, and then slowly began to start eating again. I hoped that there would maybe be a future where it was okay for us to be together, where we could maybe stop skirting around our feelings. Or, at least, my feelings. Ever since the Yule Ball last year, I couldn't help but imagine what things could be like. But, imagining is the worst thing a person could do._

_ And I did it all the time.  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Tell me what you think in a review! I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions :)<strong>

**Don't worry, things will start to move even faster in the next few chapters I have planned out.**

**Good luck on finals and other life challenges!**

**-Amehhh**


End file.
